II 



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Copyright)!?.. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




WALTER J. TRAVIS 



PRACTICAL GOLF 



by 
WALTER J. TRAVIS 






ILL US TR A TED FROM 
PHOTOGRAPHS 




NEW YORK AND LONDON 

HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS 
1901 



THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

Two Copies Received 

MAY. 7 1901 

£ RIGHT ENTRY 
. //, '9<>' 

COPY B. 






Copyright, 1901, by Harper & Brothers. 

All rights reserved. 
May, 1901. 



CON TENTS 

PAGE 

I. Stance and Grip i 

II. The Swing 17 

III. The Long Game 30 

The Second Shot 35 

IV. Approaching 42 

V. Putting <. . 63 

VI. PUTTING— Continued ...:....... 76 

VII. Playing Out of Hazards 87 

VIII. General Remarks .'.'.. . . .' 97 

IX. Clubs 108 

X. Club Shafts ...-..■ 121 

The Brassey and Other Clubs 124 

Balls 134 

XL Caddies 141 

XII. The Construction and Upkeep of Courses 145 

XIII. Putting Greens 159 

XIV. Handicapping 172 



The Rules of Golf 181 

Special Rules for Stroke Competitions 203 

Etiquette of Golf 207 

Index to Rules 209 

Glossary of Technical Terms 218 

Index 225 



I L LUSTRA T I O N S 

From photographs by T. C. Turner 

WALTER J. TRAVIS Frontispiece * 

DRIVING: 

PLAYING OFF THE LEFT LEG . ) PAGE 

PLAYING OFF THE RIGHT LEG [ 5 

STANDING SQUARE 

CLUB GRIPS 



9 

THE SWING 15, 16 

TOP OF SWING. . . ) 

FINISH OF DRIVE \ ' 25 

PLAYING A HANGING LIE 37 

TOP OF SWING— CLEEK SHOT . . . ( 

FINISH OF SWING— CLEEK SHOT ( 43 



APPROACHING: 
ADDRESS FOR MASHIE SHOT, 100 YARDS 

TOP OF SWING f 47 

FINISH OF SWING 

GRIP FOR APPROACHING 50 

ADDRESS FOR MASHIE SHOT, 60-80 YARDS ) 

TOP OF SWING >- 51 

FINISH OF SWING ) 

ADDRESS FOR A BAD LIE 

TOP OF STROKE f - 

FINISH OF STROKE 



ILL US T R A T I O N S 

PUTTING: 
PUTTING OFF THE LEFT LEG . ) PAGE 

PUTTING OFF THE RIGHT LEG >- 69 

STANDING SQUARE ) 

PUTTING GRIP 72 

CUTTING TO THE LEFT 

CUTTING TO THE RIGHT l r 

LOFTING A STYMIE .... 

PLAYING OUT OF HAZARDS: 
ADDRESS FOR BUNKER SHOT ) 

TOP OF STROKE >• 89 

FINISH OF STROKE ) 

CLUBS— MODERN DRIVERS 114, 115 

BALLS , 135, I36 

A TYPICAL CADDIE I42 



I N T RO D U C riON 

THE articles in the following pages first 
appeared in serial numbers in Golf, and 
met with such gratifying encouragement that 
I have been led to present them in a compre- 
hensive form. 

Their aim is to diffuse some practical knowl- 
edge of the " why and wherefore " of Golf, in 
order to the better assist in working a gen- 
eral improvement in play. 

With this hope this volume is dedicated to 
all lovers of the game. 

Walter J. Travis. 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

i 

STANCE AND GRIP 

THE main object in the game of golf is to 
get the ball into the hole in the fewest possible 
number of strokes. I do not, therefore, pur- 
pose entering into any account of the history 
of the game, but will simply, in a practical 
way, confine myself to an endeavor to assist 
the player who has passed the rudimentary 
stage by describing in detail, as concisely 
as possible, not only the several ways of mak- 
ing the various strokes, but also the more 
common causes of failure. 

It was my misfortune — or was it my good 
luck? — to take up golf without the assistance 
of professional coaching or the aid of any 
good player, and that, too, at a somewhat 
advanced age, regarded from a golfing stand- 
A I 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

point. Appreciating after a few attempts 
my comparative helplessness, I first provided 
myself with all the available literature on 
the subject, and after digesting, as well as 
the circumstances would permit, the manifold 
instructions laid down by several eminent 
writers, I then endeavored to discover by as 
constant practice as permitted which particu- 
lar method best suited me and promised the 
best results. 

Of course this involved a world of experi- 
menting before any fairly well-defined style 
was finally evolved, but all this experimental 
practice was not by any means thrown away. 
It brought me into actual touch with a variety 
of ways of making the different strokes and 
producing the desired results, and, best of 
all, gave me a fairly clear insight into the 
true relation of cause and effect — valuable 
information in times of stress. If I happened 
to top, sclaff, slice, or pull, or do any of the 
things which I had better left undone, it did 
not take me long to locate the actual trouble 
and to apply a remedy. 

It is therefore a question in my mind whether 
I am not better off as a result of all the enforced 
groping at fundamentals, and having been 
forced to work out my own salvation, than if 



STANCE AND GRIP 

I had started under more favorable condi- 
tions, and had the benefit of the ordinary- 
professional instruction procurable. Which 
leads me to remark, en passant, that as a 
general rule the average professional, while 
he may be a good player, lacks the faculty 
of imparting proper information to beginners. 
He can again and again give one a practical 
illustration of how a certain stroke should be 
made, having, as a rule, learned the game 
imitatively when young, and making the 
shot intuitively without troubling himself 
to analyze the why and wherefore, but when 
it comes to dissecting the stroke and explain- 
ing the producing causes — well, that's an- 
other matter, and usually unsatisfactory to 
one of an investigating turn of mind. 

Nevertheless, for the general run of be- 
ginners a professional coach is necessary 
Necessity for the cultivation of a proper stjde at 
° l o * d the start if any degree of proficiency is 
style sought. If left to himself the tyro is 
very apt to sacrifice future possibilities of ac- 
quiring the art of making a stroke properly — 
and which can only be attained by constant 
practice of what at first seems the hardest and 
most unnatural way — in favor of what ap- 
pears the easiest. He wants to "get there." 
3 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

He does, after a fashion. He arrives quickly 
at a certain stage of mediocrity, but improve- 
ment beyond such a point is extremely diffi- 
cult, if not impossible. And before any sub- 
stantial or permanent improvement can be 
effected, he will require to unlearn a good 
deal, and start afresh on correct principles. 

On the other hand, the player who models 
his game on the lines of first-class players 
will find improvement comparatively slow, 
but having developed a correct method and 
sticking to it, improvement is bound to follow, 
and he will have acquired a style which can 
be fairly depended upon to decrease his handi- 
cap. All good players work practically on 
the same basic principles. There are of course 
certain individual mannerisms and peculiari- 
ties, but underneath all these the bed-rock 
of the stroke is substantially the same. It 
matters little whether one plays off the right 
leg, the left leg, or stands square; the stroke 
is fundamentally the same, with some slight 
modifications, more or less effective. 

Let us now proceed to consider the drive, and 

endeavor to illuminate its most salient 
stlnce features. The position or stance taken 

for making the stroke has more or less 
influence on the flight of the ball. These po- 
4 



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STANCE AND GRIP 

sitions are usually known as playing off the 
right leg, standing square, or off the left leg. 
Dealing with the former, which is that most 
usually adopted — probably for the reason that 
the player can see better the proper direction, 
and feels less liable to send the ball flying off 
at a tangent — the right foot is placed more 
or less in advance of the left, parallel with the 
line of play, and according to the extent to 
which the right foot is advanced so is the 
weight of the body transferred. 

In standing square both feet are on the 
same line, and the weight rests equally on 
each. Off the left leg means that the right 
foot is withdrawn, being more or less back 
of the left, and the weight of the body rests 
more or less on the latter. 

I rather favor driving off the left leg, as it 
appears easier to get the arms and body around 
in the upward swing without the hitch which 
one seems to encounter about three-quarters 
of the way up when the right foot is in front. 
Apart from this, however, there is very little 
difference in actual results of length of drive. 
The ease and rapidity with which the weight 
of the body and arms is transferred from the 
left leg to the right and back again, joined to 
wrist action — concerning which reference will 
7 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

later be made — are largely, if not wholly, 
responsible for long driving. If one man can 
accomplish this more easily and naturally 
by a certain stance, then by all means stick 
to it. It matters little whether he now and 
then slices or pulls with more or less frequency ; 
these faults are not the outgrowth of any of 
the styles referred to, but proceed from other 
causes which will be dealt with in due course. 

Reference to the first illustration shows 
that the right foot is a few inches back of the 
left. An inch or so either way matters little, 
but the more the right is advanced, the greater 
is the check towards getting the arms and body 
around, and the upward swing is curtailed 
accordingly, and the distance of the resultant 
stroke shortened. So clearly is this recog- 
nized that by far the large majority of good 
players instinctively control and regulate 
their approach shots in this manner. The 
shorter the distance to be traversed, the more 
the right foot is advanced, as a general rule. 
With but few exceptions the very longest 
drivers have the right foot slightly back of 
the left. So much for the stance. Now for 
the grip. 

Reference to Fig. 4 shows that the club 
rests more at the base of the fingers, while 







*mm 


^^- 


, 







STANCE AND GRIP 

Fig. 5 indicates a firmer grip well in the palms 

of the hands. The latter is, in my opinion, 

concern- more conducive to greater power and 

in g the productive of longer distance. Fig. 6 

rip shows a still sturdier grip, with both 
hands, more in the palms and with the knuc- 
kles well under. This style is more affected 
by cricketers and baseball-players, but is open 
to the objection that it induces a tendency to 
hit the ball with tautened muscles, and dis- 
courages a proper follow through. Nor does 
it permit of a sufficiently free play of the 
wrists, which is absolutely essential to long 
driving. 

The relation of the hands to each other is 
a very important point. If the left hand is 
held with the knuckles under, as shown in 
Fig. 6, the right hand must also be gripped 
well under ; otherwise, if held with the knuckles 
not so far around, as shown in Fig. 4, an 
almost certain slice will be the result. In- 
versely, if the left hand grips as in Fig. 4, 
and the right as in Fig. 6, a pull will result. 
The reason is simple and apparent. By way 
of practical illustration rest the club squarely 
on the ground, held lightly in the tips of the 
fingers, with the face at a right angle to the 
line of play, then grip with the left hand only, 
11 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

with the knuckles well under; withdraw the 
club a yard or so and bring it back to its orig- 
inal position, and it will be found to have the 
face turned outward slightly to the right. 
Unless the grip of the right hand also has the 
knuckles well under, the hands are not acting 
in unison, and the ball will go to the right. 
On the other hand, if the club be held with the 
right hand only, with the knuckles well under, 
and the same operation repeated, it will be 
found that the face of the club will be slightly 
turned in and a pull will be the outcome. This 
matter of grip is one of the most pregnant 
causes of slicing and pulling. There are 
others of comparatively lesser importance, 
however, which will be treated further on. 
Perhaps the best guide, to insure the proper 
relation of the hands is to grip with both hands, 
with the knuckles well up, so that the Vs 
formed by the junction of the thumb and first 
finger of each hand are in a straight line as 
viewed by the player looking down the shaft. 
This position, however, is cramped and un- 
comfortable, and is not recommended, ex- 
cept for the purpose mentioned. Now it is 
important to remember that in changing from 
the position described, as the left hand is 
turned towards the left, outwardly, the right 



STANCE AND GRIP 

hand must also be turned to the right, out- 
wardly, in a corresponding degree. If either 
hand is allowed to turn more than the other 
the face of the club will not present a true 
right angle to the ball, and a slice or pull 
will the more likely be produced, as the case 
may be. 

The laws of motion are unchangeable, and 
a ball hit in exactly the same manner each 
time will follow the same course again and 
again without the slightest variation. To 
do this, however, is extremely difficult, if not 
impossible, and therein lies half, or perhaps 
more than half, of the fascination of the game. 
It is human nature to be forever striving for 
the unattainable — in golf, to repeat at every 
hole that magnificent drive, that approach 
which came within an ace of holing out and 
which is absolutely dead, or that putt a dozen 
or so yards off which found the bottom of the 
tin, and was destined to do so from the start. 
During the round one or more of these perfect 
strokes occur, even to the veriest tyro, and 
their successful accomplishment tends to make 
large amends for the far greater number of 
badly executed shots, and to keep alive the 
keen desire to duplicate them — if not at this 
hole, at the next — if not to-day, to-morrow. 
13 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

After this digression it is time to revert 
to the unfinished question of the grip. As a 
general rule the left hand should grip some- 
what more firmly than the right. At the same 
time the club should be held pretty tightly 
with both hands. Gripping tightly with the 
right hand is apt to cause pulling, due either 
to the tendency to slightly turn the face of the 
club in at the moment of impact with the ball, 
or to the difficulty of going properly through 
and bringing the arms around instead of letting 
them go freely away after the ball. If a man 
is constantly pulling, a remedy may be found 
by holding the club more loosely in the right 
hand. If, however, this does not correct the 
trouble he will probably find that he is grip- 
ping wrong — either too far around with the 
right hand or not far enough with the left, 
usually the former. If, on the other hand, 
he is slicing, he will almost assuredly effect 
a cure by gripping tightly with the right hand, 
or by paying closer attention to the harmo- 
nious grip of both hands, as already touched 
upon, and by following through properly. In 
this connection, however, it is proper to add 
that other causes may lie at the root of 
the trouble than those already mentioned. 
These will be taken up when the matters of 
14 



STANCE AND GRIP 

swing and the relative position of the player 
to the ball are gone into. 

Having thus far disposed of the questions 
of stance and grip, we will endeavor to ana- 
lyze the swing. Too much stress can- 
sw^ng n °t b e laid on the importance of utiliz- 
ing the wrists properly. Reference to 
Fig. 7 shows the club about half-way up to the 
shoulder. Comparison with Fig. 8 discloses 
several points of dissimilarity. In the first the 
hands and arms have been taken up straight, 
and the club's face is looking more squarely 
at the ball. The knuckles of both hands are 
in practically the same position as when the 




Fig. 7 



ball was addressed, whereas in the succeeding 

illustration it will be seen that the club face 

15 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

is turned more away from the ball, and the 
knuckles of both hands have turned corre- 




spondingly. In the former case the wrists 
have been held rigid, while in the latter they 
have been allowed, in a perfectly natural 
manner, to turn. This turn of the wrist 
exercises considerable influence on the speed 
of the swing, accelerating it in a very marked 
degree — imparting velocity in the downward 
stroke which cannot so well be secured in 
any other way. This fact can easily be de- 
monstrated by swinging a cane or a headless 
shaft, first with the wrists rigid and then 
supple, with the turn described. The dif- 
ference will be at once apparent. 



II 

THE SWING 

THE wrist movement may be said to be 
mainly contributed by the left hand in its 
The part initial stages, the right wrist following 
wrists m urnson - At the top of the swing the 
perform knuckles of the left hand will be lying 
almost flat and uppermost, the toe of the club 
pointing almost straight down to the ground. 
The trouble with the large majority of players 
who do not drive well proceeds- from the fear 
that if the face of the club is allowed to be 
diverted in the upward swing from the angle 
at which the ball was addressed — if, in other 
words, it is turned in any way — a slice will 
result. Consequently it is carried up straight 
and the stroke is robbed of a great deal of power. 
There need be no such fear. Start the wrists 
right in the upward movement and they will 
take care of themselves in the downward swing, 
if left alone. If the turn is hurried, however, 
B 17 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

the face of the club will be turned slightly 
in and the ball foundered or pulled, while if 
the turn is not made soon enough a slice will 
result, owing to the club face pointing some- 
what to the right. 

After the ball is struck, everything syn- 
chronizing harmoniously, the hands and arms 
should be allowed to go well forward, and about 
half-way on the follow through the wrists will 
again perform a turn exactly the reverse of 
that in the upward swing. Before we arrive 
at that stage, however, it is proper to say a 
few words concerning the upward swing. 

With the club gripped pretty firmly with 
both hands in the manner already described, 
it is well to see that the whole machinery is in 
good working order by waggling the club a 
few times over the ball, allowing the wrists to 
turn freely, without, however, relaxing the 
grip. The waggle should be entirely free 
from any stiffness. Which simply means 
that the wrists should be brought into active 
play. Do not on any account in this pre- 
liminary address lift the club up. Lifting 
the club presupposes stiffness and rigidity 
of muscles, and the resultant stroke cannot 
be thoroughly satisfactory. By means largely 
of the wrists swing the club back of the ball 
18 



THE SWING 

as far as it will go along the ground — some 
three or four inches — until the arms assert 
themselves, and raise it on its upward journey ; 
continue the swing until the club is about 
horizontal back of and across the right shoulder, 
allowing the body to freely turn at the same 
time in a natural and unassisted manner, 
keeping the head perfectly still and with the 
eye intently fastened on the ball, and, when 
the top of the swing is reached, without paus- 
ing, bring the arms and body around as 
swiftly as possible and swish the ball away. 

Now there are several things you must not 
do, apart from those mentioned. Do not seek 

to artificially raise the left foot on the 
rwts 1 t° e - Strive rather to keep it rooted — 

the natural turn of the shoulders and 
body rotating to the right will bring it up and 
around. Keep the right leg as stiff and as 
straight as possible. And whatever you do, 
don't move the head. 

The time-honored injunction laid down by 
all writers and teachers to "keep your eye 

on the ball" — which eye, by-the-way? 

Keep the J J J 

Head — would be more aptly expressed by 

insisting upon the head being kept 

absolutely still and in the same position as 

in the address until the ball is struck — or 

19 



PR A C T I C A L GOLF 

even a moment after. If the head is kept still 
no swaying-, of the body can be indulged in, 
and hands, arms, and everything must revert 
to the original position assumed at the com- 
mencement of the stroke, thus insuring the 
ball being. hit cleanly. If, however, the head 
is allowed to move, the chances are that a 
sclaff or a. top will result. If the head is kept 
in the same position throughout the swing, 
the player may even go so far as to abso- 
lutely shut his eyes and be reasonably cer- 
tain of getting the ball well away, provided no 
jerk. is introduced. Any doubt as to whether 
the head is moved may easily be satisfied by 
the player assuming a position with the sun 
immediately back of him, and watching the 
shadow of his head during the swing. If the 
head is shown to move, the swing should be 
persistently practised until this fault is reme- 
died. 

It has been suggested that in the upward 
swing the club should be swept close to the 
; ground. This flattening of the arc of 

'about the the circle will largely prevent any ten- 
ding ( j enC y ^- s t r ike into the ground back of 
the ball, for as the club is withdrawn so it will 
almost assuredly describe the same course in 
the-downward swing. It will furthermore con- 
20 



THE S W I N G 

siderably lessen the chances of driving a high 
ball. Moreover, the flatter the swing, the 
greater is the latitude for correction of any 
error. The accompanying diagrams will il- 
lustrate this very clearly. 

The swing indicated in Diagram 9 means 
that the club has been taken more vertically 
away from the ball in the 
upward stroke, and has con- 
sequently been brought down 



FlG -9 straighter. In Diagram 10 

it will be observed that the swing is much 
flatter, and as the arc of 
the circle is greater, the 
club head is moving longer 



•--©-• 



in the same plane as the FlG - io 

ball, thereby augmenting the chances of hit- 
ting it more correctly. ■ : 

Reference has been made to the introduction 
of a jerk in the swing. This is "generally a sure 
sign of pressing — i. e.j 'suddenly exert- 
prTss m S m °re power than usual*. The effect 
usually is to depress the right shoulder, 
and sclaff badly. If the extra power is har- 
moniously distributed, no harm is done. As a 
general thing, however, it is advisable to keep 
back some reserve force. The man who utilizes 
his full measure of existent strength at every 
21 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

full stroke is far more liable to drive unsteadily 
than he who represses such inclination and 
determines to keep well within his natural 
limitations, and the few yards occasionally 
gained by pressing when the shot comes off 
do not compensate for the more frequent 
foozles. 

It is not given to every one to drive a very 
long ball. The unusually long players possess 
certain physical advantages which are 
Driving denied to ordinary mankind in a de- 
gree. Some naturally are gifted with 
abnormal wrist power or strength of arms or a 
very rapid swing, either singly or collectively. 
All of these qualities may be developed to a 
certain extent by less favored mortals. Occa- 
sionally, by a happy conjunction of all the ele- 
ments that constitute the perfect stroke, an 
unusually long ball may be driven, but there 
is a natural average limit to every man's long 
game, and a full recognition of this fact would 
save many a wasted stroke. 

Reverting to the question of keeping the 
eye on the ball, or, in other words, of keeping 

Keep the head still, countless are the strokes 
y °ol*h* imperfectly made through looking up 

Ban a fraction of a second before the ball 
is properly struck. This diversion of the eyes 
22 



THE SWING 

from the ball causes the head to move, and 
with it the arms, and the chances of clean 
hitting are materially lessened. After the ball 
is struck no power exerted by the eyes can 
exercise the slightest influence on the ball. 
To insure the stroke being properly made it 
is not a bad plan to keep the eyes fastened 
on the spot where the ball was before the 
stroke was completed. 

In the upward swing do not allow the club 
to go so far back as to lose command of it. 
It is not really the length alone of the back- 
ward swing that contributes distance so much 
as the rapidity with which the club head is 
moving at and just after the moment of im- 
pact. Very many players are enabled to 
secure the desired velocity with a compara- 
tively short swing and get almost as long a 
ball and generally a straighter one than the 
devotee of a full swing. 

Timing the stroke properly is of vast im- 
portance. Usually the player is in too much 
of a hurry to get the ball away, and hits too 
soon. Let him resolve to centralize the power 
of the stroke immediately the ball is reached, 
and carry it through the ball, and a gratifying 
increase of distance will be manifested and a 
sweeter feeling communicated. 
23 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

Do not ease up as soon as the ball is struck; 
by all means keep up steam until the arms are 

The well away on their upward journey. 
Follow- A great deal more depends upon the 
Through ma j n t enance f speed after the ball is 
struck than is commonly supposed. This part 
of the stroke is known as the follow-through, 
and plays a very important part in the length 
of the drive, as well as in straightness. 

All which has been said concerning the 
driving stroke may be largely practised in- 
doors, without a ball. The only objection is 
that the player cannot see himself, and unless 
he is under the eyes of a competent instructor, 
is very apt to drift into faulty methods of exe- 
cution. Such solitary practice, therefore, is 
not advisable to any great extent. 

So far, the component parts of the swing 
have been analyzed without detailed reference 
to the position of the player to the ball. This 
has a very marked and varying influence on 
the stroke, and is deserving of a few words. 
Broadly speaking, the nearer the ball is to 
the left foot the higher it will be driven, and 
with a greater tendency to be sliced than if 
placed nearer to the right foot, the latter posi- 
tion being more provocative of a lower tra- 
jectory and a pull. The leading cause of a 
24 



THE S IV I N G 

high ball being driven is attributable to the 
fact that the position assumed is such that the 
club is just on the eve of its upward journey, 
and the face consequently is slightly turned 
back, towards the player. 

The tendency to slice is due partly to the 

restricted area left for the club to go through 

the ball, making it more difficult to fol- 

Slicing, ' & 

and low on properly, and also in a measure 
ing to the ball being hit slightly to the right 
of its centre. Either of these causes alone will 
produce a slice. Striking the ball to the right 
of its centre will impart a rotary movement 
from left to right. Being struck to the right, 
the ball will naturally start off to the left of a 
straight line, and as the energy of the forward 
stroke diminishes, the power of the spin will as- 
sert itself and cause the ball to describe a curve 
to the right. With a pulled ball it is just the 
opposite — the ball is hit to the left of its centre, 
i. e., nearer the player, producing a spin from 
right to left. When the ball is placed nearer to 
the right foot the point of contact with the club 
in the ordinary swing is brought nearer to 
the player. With the ball placed about mid- 
way between the two positions mentioned the 
club will meet it exactly in the centre, and a 
rotary movement in a straight line is im- 
27 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

parted, -and given that the head is allowed 
to go straight through the ball, no slice or pull 
can result. If, however, the ball is hit dead 
in the cejitre?, and the arms be drawn in at the 
moment of impact, a slight slice will ensue, 
as a modified spin from left to right will be 
given the ball. 

Apart from these causes slicing or pulling 
may follow from the ball being hit in the centre, 
but with an inclination towards the heel or toe 
of the club. If hit on the heel the weight of 
lead behind the point of impact leans to the 
right, and a slice is invited, while the reverse 
is true in favor of a pull if the ball be hit on the 
toe of-the'dubl - At the same time it may read- 
ily' be understood from the foregoing that it 
is -possible to slice with toeing and pull with 
heeling, although this is not commonly done: 
A slice pure and simple invariably describes 
a curve from left to right, the curvature being 
governed by the amount of spin. A pull is 
just the reverse. . Neither must be confounded 
with a clean-hit, straight-flying ball which 
is off the line, to the right or the left, from 
start to finish. 

Such error in direction is usually due to a 
faulty stance — to the player being, turned 
away from the hole to the right or. around 
28 



THE SWING 

too much to the left. Yet very many players 
misapprehensively speak of such strokes as 
being sliced or pulled. A true conception of 
the governing cause would go a great way 
towards correcting the trouble. The illustra- 
tions (Figs, ii and 12) show the top of the 
swing and finish of the stroke, respectively. 



Ill 

THE LONG GAME 

IN the upward swing it will be noticed that 
the body has been turned very freely, with the 
natural transferrence of weight almost en- 
tirely to the right foot, and that the left foot 
has been pulled up and around on the toe. 
Without such aid the downward stroke would 
be lacking in pith. To get the shoulders 
into the stroke they must first come around, 
in conjunction with the lower part of one's 
anatomy, smoothly and freely revolving on 
an axis which may be represented by an imag- 
inary line drawn from the head straight down 
the back. Otherwise the arms alone, un- 
assisted to any appreciable extent, are called 
upon to do the work, with material loss of 
distance. 

Another point may be observed : The club 
head has only a very slight dip from the hori- 
zontal at the top of the swing. This, com- 
30 



THE LONG GAME 

bined with the free turn of the body, indicates 
a pretty firm grip with both hands, with a 
sense of command over the club. 

In the other illustration the position is al- 
most exactly reversed, the right foot rising 

The on the toe, due to the weight of the 

Body- body being thrown by the swing on 
to the left, and the club finishing 
over the left shoulder. 

As a general thing the majority of players 
fail to properly utilize the weight of the body 
and drive mainly with the arms only, and they 
also take the club too far back in the upward 
swing. Another very common fault is falling 
back immediately after striking the ball. 

Every golfing stroke describes a circle, or a 
segment of a circle. With a long shaft the 
periphery is of course larger than with a short 
one, and flatter. In other words, with a long 
shaft the club head is not moving so long in 
the proposed direction of the flight of the ball 
as it is with a short shaft. This would not 
be the case if the centre of the circle could 
be raised in proportion to its circumference, but 
the axis of the circle, represented by the 

Vardon's i ' xl "11 

Accuracy pl a y er ; remains the same in all cases. 
The paramount reason, if not indeed the 
only one, for Harry Vardon's consistent accu- 
3i 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

racy of direction is due, in the present writer's 
opinion, to his using short shafts, and by stand- 
ing pretty erect to the ball. The axis of the 
swing is in a more perpendicular plane to the 
ball, with the inevitable result that the club 
head is moving longer in the line of play. 
This insures the ball being struck more accu- 
rately in the centre, and, what is of equal im- 
portance, of the club going through the ball 
straighter. The movement of the arms is nat- 
urally out and towards the hole, while with a 
long club more or less of an effort is required 
to let the arms go forward instead of obeying 
their natural inclination to turn around to the 
left. 

If neither the ball nor the club head possessed 
resiliency it would matter little what became 
The im- of the club after the ball were hit true, 
portance The point of contact is very small, 
Follow- hardly any larger than a pin head, 
Through y e j. ever y player must frequently have 
noticed the imprint of the ball on the head 
after a vigorous stroke, sometimes as large 
as, if not larger than, a silver quarter. This 
flattening of the. ball furnishes proof that it 
is in actual contact with the club for a frac- 
tion of time after being struck, and during 
that time is of course travelling in the same 
32 



THE LONG GAME 

direction as the head — probably for an inch or 
so. Consequently it becomes a matter of im- 
portance what becomes of the club head just 
after the moment of impact, when ball and 
head are practically one. During this crucial 
part of the stroke the head should be at right 
angles to the line of play. This is the essence 
of the follow-through, and it is probably due 
to a practical recognition of this principle and 
by the simple means employed that Vardon's 
play is so uniformly straight, using, as he 
does, very short clubs. I am not sure also that 

his peculiar grip does not lend to accu- 
donGHp rac y> as by putting the thumbs down 

the shaft and overlapping the forefinger 
of the left hand with the little finger of the 
right hand, it is practically impossible for the 
club to turn in the hands in the upward or 
downward swing, and therefore it must revert 
to its original position, as in the address. Var- 
don himself avers that he can drive a longer 
ball with what may be termed the orthodox 
grip, but at the sacrifice of accuracy, and I find 
no reason to doubt this. I know of a number 
of good players who have adopted this Vardon 
grip, and who assert that their direction has 
been wonderfully improved. Vardon, however, 
has been endowed by nature with very large 
c 33 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

hands, and, using comparatively thin grips — 
which, by-the-way, cannot be too strongly 
recommended — he is obliged to get rid of his 
fingers in some way, hence perhaps the par- 
ticular style adopted. He also possesses un- 
usually strong wrists, which, combined with 
the fact that he "hits so blamed hard," ac- 
counts for the distance obtained. 

Unless the ordinary player is gifted with 
such advantages — i. e., big hands and strong 
wrists — he probably will get better general 
results by gripping in the regulation manner 
and by using shorter clubs, 

It may have been noticed that Vardon's 
long shots are principally all carry. This 
is partly attributable to the upright swing. 
The enormous distance obtained, however, is 
such that he can well afford to do without 
the roll which follows from using longer clubs 
and playing with a flatter swing. The longer 
the club, however, as already pointed out, the 
greater is the liability to slice or pull. 

It will be noticed in the foregoing illustration 
that in the finish of the stroke the hands are 
pretty well over the left shoulder. The natural 
tendency of such is to induce more or less of a 
pull. It may be laid down as an axiom that 
the farther the arms are carried around to 
34 



THE LONG GAME 

the left, between the neck and shoulder, the 
greater is the pull when the ball is played from 
a point nearer to the right foot, and the greater 
is the slice when the ball is nearer to the left 
foot. The operating causes have already been 
explained. 

Unless against an adverse cross-wind, the 
writer generally plays with the deliberate inten- 
tion of getting a touch of pull. Such a 
fcT^puii ball has great running powers, and, be- 
ing usually comparatively low, is ex- 
ceedingly effective against the wind. Occasion- 
ally, however, the pull fails to materialize, but 
no great harm results unless too much allow- 
ance has been made for the hook. The finish 
of the stroke, so far as the position of the 
hands is concerned, is largely governed by 
the line of retraction. 



THE SECOND SHOT 

On all first-class links a large number of 
the holes should be so laid out in respect to 
distance as to call for at least two full shots 
to reach the green. Where the lie admits and 
distance is required, the driver is preferably the 
club to use. It frequently happens, however, 
that the ball is not lying well, and the brassey 
35 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

is called into requisition, a slightly greater 
amount of loft on the face enabling the player 
to get the ball up more quickly. In this con- 
nection it may be remarked that the 
B pia 8 y y De tter the player the greater is his abil- 
ity to negotiate a poor lie. The stroke 
is practically the same as a tee shot, excepting 
that the club should be taken up somewhat 
more vertically and the hands slightly drawn 
up immediately after the ball is struck, thus 
making the swing somewhat more elliptical 
than in the drive proper. The ball should be 
struck very accurately, and rather with the 
idea of driving it into the ground. The lofted 
face, joined to the slight whipping up of the 
hands at the proper time — that is, after the 
club meets the ball — will produce the desired 
result. Do not, on any account, seek to bring 
the hands up too quickly, otherwise a top will 
assuredly result. Play with the ball somewhat 
nearer the right foot, and don't hurry the 
swing. Disabuse your mind of any idea that 
a little more effort than usual is necessary; 
rather go to the other extreme and take things 
quietly, and concentrate everything upon hit- 
ting the ball accurately and smoothly. 

For brassey shots generally, it will be found 
an aid towards accurate striking to look not 
36 




Fig. 13 
PLAYING A HANGING LIE 



THE LONG GAME 

at the ball itself, but immediately back of it. 
This will largely prevent the common tendency 
to top. If, on the other hand, the general run 
of strokes are sclaffed, the player may find a 
remedy by reversing the process and looking 
squarely at the ball, or even at that part of it 
which is nearer to the hole. With a little 
practice the player may very soon satisfy him- 
self as to the correct point of aim adaptable to 
his particular style. • As in the tee shot it is 
very important to keep in mind the necessity 
of timing the stroke properly. Too much 
energy is generally wasted by introducing the 
power too soon. Let the upward swing be 
such as to get the club back pretty smartly 
to the horizontal, and to bring it down so as 
to get the maximum amount of speed within 
about eighteen inches or so before the ball 
and about a couple of feet after the ball. Con- 
centrate all the power in that spread of about 
three or four feet. Upon the wrists devolves 
the main burden of this particular part of the 
swing. They impart that delightful snap 
which contributes so materially to length 
without apparent effort. This wrist move- 
ment in itself is not discernible to the eyes 
of the onlooker, except in so far as it differen- 
tiates the stroke from the ordinary one where 
39 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

the hands are taken back straighter — and, of 
course, brought down correspondingly. It 
cannot be illustrated in the ordinary photo- 
graph, and, indeed, is very difficult to accu- 
rately describe. 

Very many players have no difficulty in 
getting away very good balls from the tee, 
piaying a but are troubled in negotiating a 
Hanging brassey shot. This is perhaps largely 
attributable to using too high a tee. 
Driving from a lower tee, or none at all, will 
be found very helpful when it comes to the 
second shot. 

After the drive, and with the hole still some 
one hundred and seventy or one hundred and 
eighty yards away, it will sometimes hap- 
pen that the ball has to be played from a 
hanging lie sloping towards the hole, with a 
bunker intervening. To get the ball up more 
quickly hit it slightly on the heel of the club, 
making allowance for the resultant slice by 
aiming somewhat to the left of the hole. Take 
particular care to let the club go through 
the ball according to the dip of the ground, 
and not to turn the face in, 

Illustration Fig. 13 will serve to furnish an 
idea as to the stance adopted for this particu- 
lar stroke. It will be observed that the ball 
40 



THE LONG GAME 

is much nearer to the left foot than in the tee 
shot, while the right foot is more advanced, 
being a couple of inches or so in front. By 
striking the ball slightly towards the heel of 
the club and immediately after bringing the 
arms somewhat in and finishing well out, a 
slight spin is imparted to the ball which causes 
it to rise more quickly. To further assist in 
getting the ball up the hands should be held 
somewhat lower down than usual, so as to 
bring the heel of the club closer to the ground 
and the toe slightly cocked up. 



IV 

APPRO A CHING 

THE "quarter" game, with putting a very- 
close second, may be regarded as the most 
difficult part of the art of golf. In driving 
and playing through the green distance is 
the prime object to be achieved, combined with 
a fair measure of accuracy. While it is, of 
course, desirable to be in line with the flag in 
the long game, yet a dozen yards or so either 
way make little appreciable difference, as there 
is sufficient latitude allowed. But when it 
comes to getting the green on the next, more 
careful calculations have to be made, both in 
respect to strength and to accuracy. 

Apart from the tee shot any stroke that is 
capable of landing the ball on the green, even 
with a driver, brassey, or full cleek, may be 
said to be an approach. The ordinary accep- 
tation of the term, however, embraces dis- 
tances from, say, forty or fifty to one hundred 
42 






■ 


J 




Tl 


p 


V r 




1 /w 


/ 




/ 








/ 











A P P R O A C H I N G 

and fifty or one hundred and sixty yards 
from the hole. A fairly good player can 
easily get the latter distance with a cleek. 
Lesser ranges may be negotiated with a mid- 
iron or mashie. The driver is, of course, the 
most powerful club, followed in due order by 
the brassey, the cleek, the mid-iron, and the 
mashie. 

According to the distance from the green 
so does the experienced player regulate the 
stroke by the particular club employed. It 
is easier to play a full mashie shot, for instance, 
than a half-iron. Given that the ball be hit 
true, each club has a certain maximum range, 
and the player should familiarize himself with 
the full capabilities of his clubs, and govern 
his approaches accordingly. So far as the 
cleek and iron are concerned, the stance and 
swing are practically the same as in the drive, 
excepting that it is advisable to stand a little 

The more over the ball, and not to take the 

Mashie club so far back in the upward swing. 

When you come to within, say, one 

hundred yards or thereabouts of the hole, the 

mashie may be brought into requisition. 

For a shot of this distance the right foot 
should be advanced a trifle more than usual, 
with the ball somewhat nearer the right foot. 
45 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

Grasp the club firmly, with the sole at right 
angles to the line of play, and play straight 
for the hole. Make the stroke with decision. 
Aim to hit the ball in its centre with the middle 
of the face, and let the club go through and 
slightly into the ground. Follow through as 
in the drive. Do not attempt to jerk the stroke, 
unless the ball be lying badly. Be very par- 
ticular not to take any turf until after the ball 
is hit. The ball must be hit clean, and the 
club allowed to go through into the ground 
immediately after, and not on any account 
before, reaching the ball. Do not allow the 
club to trail along behind the ball in the up- 
ward swing; rather make a point of taking 
it up straighter — more vertically. 

In the same way that the club is withdrawn, 
so is it likely to come down upon the ball. 
This is a golfing truism, and such an important 
one that we often lose sight of it altogether. 
If the club be swept along the ground, back 
of the ball, the chances are in favor of a top, 
unless it should be lying very well. Irre- 
spective of the lie, it is better to adhere to the 
same methods throughout, and play each shot 
the same way — except in the case of a verjr 
cuppy lie, which will be considered in its prop- 
er place. 

46 



A P P R O A C H I N G 

Within sixty to eighty yards of the hole 
some slight modifications are necessary in the 
stance and the stroke. The right foot should 
be brought further forward, with the ball a trifle 
nearer the left foot. The face of the club should 
be inclined to the right, so that it would appear 
as though the player intended going several 
yards to the right of the hole. At the same 

time the aim should be correspondingly 
wJtTcut to the left of the hole. In making the 

stroke hit the ball smartly somewhat 
across, i. e., draw the arms in a trifle, immedi- 
ately after the ball is struck. This combina- 
tion will produce a perfectly straight ball, with 
a good deal of cut, which will have a retarding 
effect on its run. Precisely the same methods 
are employed for shorter distances. The face 
of the club may even be turned slightly more 
away from the hole to the right, with the heel 
well down to the ground. Hitting with the 
heel of the club meeting the ground after the 
ball is struck will cause the ball to rise more, 
and, joined to the spin imparted by drawing 
in the arms and turning the wrists upward, 
will produce a very dead ball with hardly any 
run. 

The essence of the stroke consists in hitting 
very sharply, and in turning the wrists up- 
D 49 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

ward immediately after the ball is struck. The 
club should be grasped very firmly, but more 
with the fingers than in the palms, and the 




GRIP FOR APPROACHING 



stroke made very decisively with a free use of 

the wrists. In all of these strokes the elbows 

should be pretty well bent and fairly well 

50 



APPROACHING 

tucked in towards the body. For the shorter 
strokes, the feet should not be raised at all 
from the ground, the body being allowed to 
turn from the knees only, and principally from 
the left knee. For the longer shots the turn 
of the knees is more pronounced, and the left 
foot shifts slightly inward on the side, tow- 
ards the toe. 

An exceedingly dead ball may also be played 
by standing well back, laying the club almost 
flat, and cutting clear under the ball. The 
stroke is comparatively easy if the ball is ly- 
ing well, but not otherwise. In this stroke 
the club head is well in advance of the hands. 
It may be well to remark here that in all strokes, 
of every description, a high ball with com- 
paratively little run follows when the club is in 
advance of the hands, and, conversely, a ball 
with a lower trajectory and more compensating 
run results when the hands are in advance of 
the ball. A full recognition and practical ap- 
plication of this principle would go a great 
way towards simplifying the problem of mak- 
ing the ball fall dead or of imparting addition- 
al run, as may be desired. 

Going with the wind, and playing a mashie 
.shot where it is necessary to pitch right on 
to the green, and make the ball stay there, it 
53 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

is absolutely essential to put a decided cut on 
the ball. As already explained, this cut stroke 
is made largely by hitting across the 
0° will" ball. I n addition to the retarding ef- 
fect on the run produced by the spin 
thus given, the stroke may more easily be 
accomplished by letting the club reach the 
ball before the hands are in the same vertical 
plane. In other words, stand with the ball 
pretty well in front of you. 

Playing dead against the wind the same 
methods may be employed, but as practically 
no run at all follows, the ball must be hit much 
harder, and may safely be played close up to 
or even beyond the hole. It is perhaps safer, 
however, to play without any decided cut under 
such circumstances, but rather in the way 
suggested for a shot of eighty to one hundred 
yards, regulating the strength according to 
the distance. 

So far I have dealt entirely with the mashie 
in approaching. I do not intend by this to 
suggest that this particular club only should 
be used. In point of fact, I rarely play with 
a mashie unless there is a bunker or rough 
ground intervening. When the nature of 
the ground permits, I consider it safer and 
easier to run up, either with a cleek, iron, or 
54 



APPROACHING 

putter, with more or less cut according to the 
unevenness of the ground. With a straighter- 
faced club it is much simpler to determine the 
strength required, and much easier to be sure 
of hitting the ball cleanly than with a more 
lofted one. The more the club is lofted or the 
face laid back the greater is the accuracy re- 
quired. The more simply the approach shot 
can be played the better, as there is greater 
latitude for error than in using any of the 
heavily lofted clubs. 

In the running-up stroke it makes compara- 
tively little difference if you should happen to 
get a little too much down to the ball, 
unmng- or half-top it, whereas with the lofted 
approach, and with the same measure 
of strength applied, getting too much under 
means being away short, while a topped 
mashie is generally far over the hole. Then, 
again, with the mashie, the ball may possibly 
pitch on a hard and bare spot, or on sand, or 
it may strike some irregularity of surface, 
and so completely upset the finest calcula- 
tions. It must also be borne in mind that 
while in the air the ball is more at the mercy 
of the wind, while if kept closer to the ground 
the wind exercises very much less influence. 

At the same time no one can rank as a first- 
55 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

class golfer who is not a master of the lofted 
approach shot in all its moods and tenses. 
There is no department of the game which 
calls for such a high degree of skill and the 
exercise of such sound judgment as approach- 
ing. Here strength and direction must be 
supplemented with a measure of delicacy and 
fine discrimination such as are not called 
for in any other department of the game, 
unless, indeed, we include the approach putt, 
which is really an offshoot of the approach 
proper, and is usually made under more ad- 
vantageous circumstances. 

It is perhaps worthy of record, in this con- 
nection, to point out the fact that both the 
present open and amateur champions of the 
United Kingdom, and also the open and ama- 
teur champions of the United States, owe their 
success perhaps more largely to their skill in 
approaching than to anything else. The ob- 
ject of the game is to get the ball into a very 
small hole in the fewest possible number of 
„_ strokes. To do this, on a first-class 
rounded course, it is of course essential that the 
successful golfer should play a well- 
rounded game. He must drive well, approach 
well, and putt well. He can never hope to 
occupy the premier position if he is weak in 
56 



A P P R O A C H I N G 

any one of the three departments. Extraor- 
dinarily long driving, for instance, does not 
compensate for poor approaching or poor put- 
ting. It is much better to be an adept at put- 
ting than at driving. If a man drives fairly 
well, say from one hundred and seventy to 
one hundred and ninety yards, and approaches 
and putts with consistent accuracy, he is much 
better off than the player who gets one hun- 
dred and eighty to two hundred yards from 
the tee, and then shows weakness in approach- 
ing or putting. The good approacher, pro- 
vided he putts fairly well, saves many a stroke 
by laying his ball so close to the hole that he 
goes down in one on the next, when the other 
player takes two — and sometimes more. 

The method of approaching so far treated 
is what is commonly known as the bent-arm 
stroke — that is to say, the arms are not kept 
taut or stiff, but are allowed to bend at the 
elbows, and to turn more or less from the wrists. 
At the same time the club is grasped firmly 
with both hands. If anything, the right hand 
and arm contribute a shade more power than 
the left. The stroke partakes more of the 
character of a hit than a swing, as exemplified 
in the drive — a sharp, snappy hit, entirely free, 
however, from jerk. 

59 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

There is another way of making approach 
shots which is very effective. In this the 
arms are kept stiff, and the wrists are 
S sh U 1 t d s er scarcely turned at all. There is more 
of a swing than a hit in the stroke, 
and the shoulders are brought more or less 
into play. The ball may be kept on a very 
true line by this method, but it will have a 
lower trajectory and greater run. It is useful 
on a windy day, or when the nature of the 
ground admits more of a running - up ap- 
proach. For all-round purposes, however, it 
does not possess the full share of merits of the 
other style already dealt with. 

It is comparatively easy to play an ap- 
proach shot from a good lie, as then one may 
give the larger share of his attention to 
° Li>8° r the necessary strength, being 'reason- 
ably sure of hitting the ball clean. It 
frequently happens, ho^ev^r, thaMh^ball may/ 
be lying badly, and greater nicety is then re- 
quired to get it away. Let us take a ball 
lying in a cup with a tuft of grass behind — 
the ordinary type of poor lie, or even in a 
wagon rut — and with a bunker, say forty or 
fifty yards away, guarding the green. The 
stiff - arm stroke here is useless. Even the 
other style mentioned has to be slightly modi- 
60 



APPROACHING 

fied. Grasp the club very firmly in both 
hands, stand with the feet farther apart than 
usual, with the ball nearer to the right foot, 
take the club up straighter, more perpendic- 
ularly, and bring it down sharply into the 
ground straight behind the ball. The sole of 
the club will have to cleave the ground a trifle 
before the face reaches the ball in order to get 
it up properly, and it will then go through into 
the ground immediately underneath the spot 
where the ball was lying. Don't try to get 
the ball up; the lofted face of the club will 
do that; rather go to the other extreme, and 
make up your mind you are going to drive it 
into the bowels of the earth. It is astonishing 
how far a ball can be shot out of what looks 
like an impossible lie by these means. The 
great thing to remember is that the club will 
do the work if you give it a fair chance. Don't 
turn the face in, and don't take your eye off 
the point of aim just behind the ball, until the 
club has sunk well into the ground, and don't 
be afraid to hit on account of the slight jar 
to the wrists which follows the impact. 

When the club has gone well into the ground, 

giving it plenty of time, then you may flex 

the wrists slightly, to lessen the shock and 

direct the passage of the club towards the hole 

61 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

and further assist in getting the ball up. Of 
course the execution of a stroke of this kind 
will dig up a blanket of turf, and will carry 
with it the unpleasant suggestion that you 
must inevitably smash the shaft of the club 
into flinders. But if you have faith in the 
resiliency of hickory it will be of material aid 
in executing the stroke properly, and your 
shaft, if a good one, will be none the worse. 
One more piece of counsel — take as little turf 
as possible before striking the ball itself. 



V 

PUT TING 

ASSUMING that the approach stroke has 
been properly executed, the ball should now be 
on the green, not so far from the hole as to 
render it at all uncertain about going down in 
two more — and very frequently in one. But 
alas for human frailty ! It is quite possible even 
with the best players that the ball is occasion- 
ally either short of or possibly over the green 
proper, with some indifferently rough ground 
to be negotiated before the putter may or- 
dinarily be used with safety or precision. 
Where the intervening space is covered with 
fairly long grass a mashie or an iron is really 
necessary, but if there should be no rank grass 

The but simply the ordinary fair green, free 
Approach from any bunkers, a running-up ap- 
proach may safely be played with the 
putter. It is imperative, however, to bear in 
mind that the stroke should be different in 
63 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

kind from the ordinary putt. You should aim 
to hit the ball as if it were your intention to 
drive it into the ground, standing rather more 
than usual in front, and striking the ball with 
the face of the club slightly turned in. This 
will cause the ball to jump, due to its contact 
with the ground immediately after being struck, 
but it will keep a wonderfully straight line, de- 
spite irregularities of surface, and will usually 
be found nearer the hole than if a more lofted 
club were used. A stroke of this kind may 
be played even fifty or sixty yards from the 
hole, and with far more certainty of result 
than if a mashie had been used. With the 
ordinary putter, more or less straight-faced, 
it is much easier to hit the ball truly and to 
regulate the desired strength than with any 
of its more lofted brethren. Nor does it make 
so much difference if the ball be lying badly, 
since you do not desire to get it up. With a 
comparatively straight-faced club it matters 
very little, in a stroke of this kind, whether 
the ball is struck above or below the centre 
of the club, but it makes a world of difference 
if such liberties are taken with a mashie, the 
greater angle of the face of the latter not al- 
lowing such a wide margin for error. 

Another way of playing the stroke, in simi- 
64 



PUTTING 

lar circumstances, is to stand with the ball 
well in front of you — still using the putter — 
the club head rather in advance of the hands 
and the face slightly turned outward, to the 
right, and putting cut on the ball by drawing 
the arms in a trifle just at the moment of strik- 
ing. This will cause the ball to rise slightly 
immediately after being struck. Such a stroke 
is useful where some roughish ground has to 
be traversed just in front of the ball, or when 
it happens to be either teed up or lying in short, 
soft grass. 

The simpler the means employed to get the 
ball into the hole the better. It is much easier, 
and less fraught with danger or risk of failure, 
to run a ball up than to pitch it. If pitching 
were easier, why not putt with a mashie? 
Never use a mashie or any heavily lofted iron 
when the necessity for pitching does not really 
exist. It requires a certain fine discrimina- 
tion, however, to know, the moment you get 
up to your ball, just what kind of a stroke 
should be played, and the proper club to play it 

with. Don't allow yourself to get into 
Hesitate the wa Y °f hesitating or questioning 

whether you should take a mashie or 
an iron or a putter. Make up your mind at 
once, and stick to it. Another thing is worth 
E 65 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

remembering in connection with the short 
game, and that is not to allow yourself to 
dwell upon the strength of the next stroke 
while walking up to your ball. Wait until 
you get to it before making any calculations 
of this kind. And let me again and again 
urge you not to be in any hurry to look up 
after you have made the stroke. To my mind 
there are two rocks upon which the large ma- 
jority of players split, two things we all do, 
more or less, and which are provocative of 
poorly executed strokes. One is looking up 
too soon, especially in the short game, and 
the other hitting too soon, particularly in the 
long game. 

Now that we have managed, more or less 
successfully, to get on the green, the serious 
business of getting the ball into the 
t J e °g a s n hole in one or two strokes presents it- 
self. And mighty serious business it 
is too. Putting, that is consistently good put- 
ting, is perhaps the most difficult part of the 
game, with the possible exception of really 
first-class approach work. Driving is largely 
mechanical, the one essential being to keep 
fairly straight. In this department of the 
game you are never troubled about going too 
far, or if any possible doubt exists on this 
66 



PUTTING 

score you may easily remove it by using a 
weaker club. The approach is somewhat more 
complex, for here accuracy and strength are 
the elements. Even this part may be largely 
simplified by using a cleek, iron, mashie, or 
putter, each having a certain fairly well- 
defined capacity in respect to distance. 

But putting calls for the highest degree of 
skill and the nicest kind of judgment both as 
regards accuracy and strength. By accuracy 
is meant the passage of the ball over an im- 
aginary line between it and the hole. You 
may possibly be able to keep your ball along 
this line, but if it is hit too hard it will probably 
jump the cup, while if the necessary strength 
is lacking it certainly cannot go in. It all 
seems easy enough, especially to the man who 
has never tried it, and who is not saddled with 
recollections of innumerable misses in the past, 
sins of commission and of omission. Which 
leads us to remark that one of the prime req- 
uisites to good putting is an abounding 
confidence in your ability to lay the ball dead 
when several yards away, or positively run it 
down when within reasonable holing-out dis- 
tance. 

Let us examine into the character of the 
stroke in reference to accuracy more particular- 
67 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

ly, dismissing, for the time being, the question 
of strength. If we can succeed in getting the 
Accurac ^all to run true, more than half of the 
^ terrors of putting are gotten rid of 
ing at the outset, and the mind may then 
be concentrated on the important matter of 
strength. 

In respect to accuracy, it is imperative that 
you should act upon some well-defined prin- 
ciples. Proceed first by taking a glance 
back of the ball towards the hole, and trace 
the line over which it must pass, noting for 
subsequent guidance a particular blade of 
grass on this imaginary line. Take your 
stance and square the face of the putter at 
perfect right angles to the blade of grass you 
have picked out by resting it immediately in 
front of the ball. By resting the club in this 
way in front of the ball it is easier to get the 
correct base-line, and, furthermore, it assists 
in going through the ball properly when the 
stroke is made. 

Now withdraw the club and let it rest gently 
on the turf close up behind the ball, taking 
care to preserve the correct angle. Let the 
eye run quickly over the imaginary line to 
the hole, so as to determine the requisite force 
to be applied, and then make the stroke. 
68 



PUTTING 

If the club presents a perfect right angle 
in reference to the line of play during the 
period of contact with the ball, and no irreg- 
ularities of surface or obstructions interfere, 
the ball will almost certainly run straight, 
and assuming that the right amount of strength 
has been employed it will stand a much better 
chance of finding the hole than if the player 
simply trusted to luck, and with each new putt 
changed his method according to the whim of 
the moment. 

The matter of stance is of some importance. 
It may be said that there are three ways of 
standing in relation to the ball and the 
stance nne °f V^Y '• °ff the left leg — that is, 
with the weight resting mainly on the 
left and with the ball nearer to that foot ; off 
the right leg — the reverse of the previous po- 
sition; and standing square — i.e., with the 
ball about midway between the feet. The 
player must discover by practice which style 
is productive of the best general results, and 
having done so, it is advisable to adhere to it. 
At the same time, when the ball persistently 
refuses to be holed it is rather a good plan to 
switch off and adopt one of the alternative 
positions mentioned. A change of this kind 
is often beneficial. 

7i 



PRACTICAL GOLF 



The accompanying picture illustrates the 
grip affected by the writer. It is not contended 

Re ard- * na t ^ ms * s XX1 an y wa y better than the 

ingthe orthodox grip for the general run of 

np players, but exhaustive tests — and 

under fire — have demonstrated conclusively 

that it serves its purpose somewhat better 




PUTTING GRIP 



than does the prevailing style. It will be ob- 
served that both thumbs are laid down the 
shaft, and that the index-finger of the right 
72 



PUTTING 

hand touches it also at the tip, towards the 
back of the shaft. Grasping the club in this 
way, and with the fingers, one seems to feel it 
better and to be able more accurately to de- 
termine the proper degree of strength to be 
applied to the stroke. Then, too, it lessens 
one's innate tendency to pull the ball, a ten- 
dency which the orthodox grip rather encour- 
ages. Close observation of all missed putts 
discloses the interesting fact that by far the 
large majority go to the left of the hole, 
thereby indicating the presence of a pull, due 
to the arms being slightly drawn in just after 
striking, instead of following through on the 
line to the hole. Throwing the burden of the 
work on the right forefinger seems to counter- 
act any such fault, and not only is the club 
guided better, but greater delicacy of touch 
is apparent, and, consequently, the matter of 
strength is better controlled and regulated. 

It will be found, generally speaking, that 
better results follow by gripping the club 
pretty firmly, with the fingers — firmly but not 
tightly. A very tight grip is usually at the 
sacrifice of delicacy. A firm grip insures 
the ball keeping its line more accurately and 
not being deflected by irregularities of any 
kind. The rougher the green the more is 
73 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

this essential. The hands should be kept as 
close together as possible, the grip of the right 
rather predominating. 

The club should be taken away from and 
brought back to and follow through the ball 
with a smooth, even movement, free 
Ban; 6 from any jerk. A choppy kind of 
Don^t hit stroke, a tap, or a hit is not recom- 
mended. Putts may, of course, be holed 
by each and all of these methods, but not, we 
think, with the same degree of consistency. 
Endeavor to take the club back and let it fol- 
low after the ball on the correct line of the 
putt. Aim to strike the ball exactly in the 
centre, and don't be in any hurry to look up 
after the stroke. As a general thing, the 
centre of the club is the best part to strike 
with, but a great deal of course depends 
upon the balance. With certain clubs better 
results are attained by striking somewhat off 
the toe. 

In addressing the ball do not allow the 
club to weigh heavily on the turf; rather let 
the touch be very delicate. Whatever the 
distance may be, always go for the hole; in 
other words, be up. In this way a certain pro- 
portion of long putts will be brought off. Aim 
to be just a shade over the hole, but not so far 
74 



PUTTING 

beyond as to make at all uncertain the holing 
out of the next, in case of missing. 

Endeavor to make every stroke with con- 
fidence and decision. Lack of confidence 
Necessit g° es a g rea t way towards inviting a 
ofconfi- miss. Don't unduly hang over the 
ball, and don't be too keen to note 
any fancied irregularities of surface between 
it and the hole. In respect to both the cor- 
rect line and the necessary strength, be gov- 
erned by your first impressions, and let the 
muscles act upon the information so conveyed 
without further ado. You may occasionally 
go wrong, but the general results will approve 
the wisdom of such procedure. 



VI 

PUTTING— Continued 

IN putting, it is of prime importance that 
the body should be kept immovable, the hands, 
wrists, arms, and, to a certain extent, the 
shoulders only entering into the stroke. If 
the body be allowed to participate in the work 
an element is introduced that only complicates 
the situation, and makes this part of the game 
altogether uncertain. It is difficult enough, 
in all conscience, to control the strength of 
the stroke by simply using the other members ; 
add the weight of the body, however little, . 
and you will get such additional run on the 
ball as will carry it away over the hole and 
prove utterly demoralizing to the player. 
Neither should the wrists alone play any undue 
part. The less they are employed the better, 
for uniformity. They should act in perfect 
harmony with the other factors, the whole so 
blending and merging into each other as to 
76 



PUTTING 

produce a rhythmical unison, and leave the 
player wholly unconscious of any particular 
element being present. There should be more 
or less of an air of stiffness about the stroke, 
free, however, from any rigidity born of taut- 
ened muscles. 

The head, of course, must be kept absolutely 

still. At the moment of striking, the eyes — 

particularly the left — should be in- 

Eye P fi X ed tently fastened, not only on the ball, 

on the k u t on t ne dead centre of the ball tow- -. 

Ball 

ards the back, where you intend hitting 
it. It has been suggested that the left eye 
more especially should be directed at the ball. 
This will involve a slight turn of the head 
away from the hole. In this attitude less 
encouragement is given to pull the ball — 
and, as we have previously remarked, this 
matter of pulling is one of the greatest of 
all putting sins. As a further aid, it is ad- 
visable to get both elbows in line, parallel with 
the line of the putt. This will necessitate 
the turning of the left elbow away from the 
body, the right being somewhat tucked in 
towards the thigh, but not being allowed to 
rest on it. By letting the club swing in the 
manner described it will be noticed that it 
meets and goes through the ball with the face 
77 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

at a perfect right angle with reference to the 
line to the hole, and that is the whole essence 
of good putting. There is no mystery at all 
about it. The laws of motion are unchange- 
able, and given that the ball be hit truly on 
scientific principles, such as we have endeav- 
ored to outline, it will assuredly run straight 
on a smooth and true green, and be far more 
liable to keep a straight line on an indifferent 
one than if hit "in any old way." 

In respect to the proper degree of strength 

to be applied, this is largely governed not only 

by the weight but also by the lie of 

Strength the club " WitH a heaV y club leSS 

force is necessary to make the ball 
travel a given distance than with a lighter 
one. So it is with a straight-faced putter 
as against one a trifle lofted or laid back. 
The more it is laid back the greater is the 
undercut or backward spin, and the harder 
must the ball be struck. Such a club is 
very useful on a keen green, as there is less 
liability of over -running the hole. Then, 
too, the shaft plays a very important part. 
With one possessing an undue amount of spring 
it is very difficult to gauge the correct amount 
of strength necessary. It is better to err on 
the right side and play with a very stiff shaft, 
78 



PUTTING 

Probably the best all-round weapon is a 
putting-cleek of medium weight, and not too 
much lofted. 

I am not an advocate of wooden putters. 
Off wood the ball is endued with much greater 
wooden running power than off iron, and there- 
and other f re the stroke calls for greater exer- 
cise of delicacy. Moreover, the ball 
does not appear to hug the ground so closely, 
and is consequently more apt to jump the 
hole. These very qualities, however, make the 
wooden putter rather desirable for running-up 
approaches. Nevertheless, I believe the ordi- 
nary putter to be, on the whole, the more trust- 
worthy for such strokes. 

A little experimenting and practice with 
different kinds of putters will shortly satisfy 
the player which particular one is best suited 
to him, day in and day out, and when this 
discovery is made, stick to it. You may, 
however, have a fancy for another with which 
you are perfectly deadly at times, but hardly 
feel like pinning absolute faith to it on all 
occasions. In an important match it is not a 
bad plan to stick it in your bag, and if you 
happen to have a poor putting streak on don't 
hesitate to try a change. Putting is largely 
mental, anyway, and humoring one's self in 
79 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

this department of the game often produces 
the desired results. On certain greens the 
ordinary putter works admirably. More es- 
pecially on those which are very true. If 
at all rough the putting-cleek will probably 
prove the more serviceable. In the hands 
of a finished player, however, it makes com- 
paratively little difference which he uses. 
A good player must be highly adaptable; 
quick to recognize exactly the kind of stroke 
required, according to the nature of the sur- 
roundings, and so "make the punishment 
fit the crime." Such a player will not hesitate 
to take his putter when the ball is a yard or 
so off the edge of the green, but he will modify 
the stroke slightly by altering his stance, 
playing with the ball well forward, almost 
opposite the left toe, and with the club head 
in advance of the hands. This will cause 
the ball to be slightly lofted, barely sufficient 
to skim over the intervening rough part, and 
to have a free run up to the hole. The same 
results may more easily be attained with 
a putting-cleek, owing to the face being more 
laid back, by standing with the ball just a 
little more forward than usual. Or, if pre- 
ferred, an iron may safely be used. It largely 
depends upon the nature of the ground, and 
80 



PUTTING 

no hard and fast rule can be laid down to govern 
such cases. 

Before concluding this chapter it is proper 
to say a few words concerning stymies, which, 
justly so or not, form a recognized 
stymies part of the game. Nearly every de- 
gree of stymie -is capable of being 
negotiated, by (A) curling your ball around 
the opposing one, (B) lofting over it, or (C) 
putting a follow - through on your ball and 
striking your opponent's, causing the latter 
to jump clean over the hole and yours to go 
in. Everything depends upon the position of 
the balls in reference to the hole as to the 
means employed to make the stroke success- 
fully, joined also to the undulating or other 
characteristics of the green. Occasionally the 
undulations of the ground offer assistance. 
Putting such aside, however, and taking a 
flat green, with the opponent's ball a trifle 
to the right of the line to the hole, it is possible, 
by turning the face of the putter a good deal 
to the right and hitting towards the heel, at the 
same time drawing it sharply across, to so 
slice the ball as to make it describe the neces- 
sary curve. Care must be taken, however, to 
aim to the left of the other ball. Sometimes the 
balls are so situated as to make it desirable to 
83 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

curl around the opposite way, from right to left. 
The method of procedure in such case is ex- 
actly the reverse of the foregoing one. Let 
the ball be nearer the right foot, turn the face 
of the club in so as to face well to the left of 
the hole, and hit the ball more off the toe, 
commencing the stroke inward and finishing 
outward, across the ball, aiming at the same 
time to the right of the other ball. The spin 
given to the ball will cause it to curl in from 
right to left. It is imperative in both cases 
that the ball should be struck with decision 
and not in a half-hearted, timorous fashion. 
For that matter, by-the-way, this applies to 
all strokes. It frequently happens that the 
balls are so lying as to make it practically 
impossible to effect either of the strokes men- 
tioned. In such case there is no alternative 
but to loft your ball over the other with a 
mashie. To do this you must hit the ball very 
clean, without a suggestion of sclaff or top. 
It is done almost entirely with the wrists, rather 
snappily, and with a slight upward turn just 
at the moment of impact. The eye must be 
kept fastened on the ball. Looking up a 
fraction of a second too soon is fatal. The 
stroke may the more easily be accomplished 
by playing the ball well off the left leg, rather 
84 



PUTTING 

more in advance than usual. The head of 
the club will thus lie natter and will assist in 
getting the ball up more quickly, with little 
run after alighting. Whether you play to 
pitch the ball right into the hole or short of it 
depends of course upon their relative positions. 
Confidence may be said to be a prerequisite 
in bringing the shot off successfully. Much, 
too, depends upon whether you are playing 
for the hole or a half. Sometimes the shot is 
of such a hazardous nature that it is better 
to play safe and accept a half rather than run 
any undue risk of losing the hole by knocking 
your opponent's ball in. But if you are play- 
ing for a half you have got to take the bull 
by the horns and risk it. 

Occasionally you will be confronted with an 
absolutely dead stymie by having your oppo- 
nent's ball just on the edge of the cup, your own 
being so close, say seven inches to a foot away, 
that it is impossible to negotiate the stroke by 
either curling around or lofting. In such 
extremity there is only one way of getting 
your ball in the hole unaccompanied by your 
opponent's, and that is by what is technically 
known in billiards as the follow shot. Hit 
your ball towards the top, just above the centre, 
and aim directly at the other ball. Strike 
85 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

with sufficient force to go at least twice as far 
as you would ordinarily wish to. This addi- 
tional strength is necessary to cause your 
opponent's ball to jump the hole upon being 
struck, your own meanwhile dropping into 
the hole. It is surprising how frequently this 
will happen when the stroke is executed prop- 
erly. At all events it is worth trying in an 
emergency, especially when you have only 
one for a half. 



VII 

PLAYING OUT OF HAZARDS 

On all first-class courses the bunkers or 
hazards are so arranged as to impose a penal- 
ty on a poorly played stroke. Outside of long 
grass these are ordinarily of artificial produc- 
tion and take the form of cop-bunkers or shallow 
pots of varying sizes filled with sand. It is 
much easier to get into them than it is to get 
out of them — usually. Yet it should not cost 
more than one stroke to get the ball out, if 
properly played. Let us take the case of a ball 
lying in sand with the cop or face of the bunker 
a yard or so away and several times as high. 
It is obvious that the essential part of the 
stroke is to get the ball to rise quickly in order 
to clear the obstacle. This cannot pos- 
out of sibly be accomplished with the ordinary 
Difficui- s t r oke. In the first place the club itself 

ties . A 

must not come in contact with the ball 
at all when it is desired to make the latter rise 

87 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

almost perpendicularly. The character of the 
stroke must also be radically altered. The club 
should be taken up as straight as possible — 
up, not away from the ball — and it should be 
brought straight down again on the same line. 
The aim should be back of the ball an inch or 
so, depending entirely upon the height and 
proximity of the bunker to be surmounted. 
The stroke is no longer a swing, but a genuine 
kit, delivered with all the force at command. 
For this purpose the club should be gripped 
very firmly. It is the kind of a blow that you 
would give a snake, for instance — no love tap, 
but full of concentrated energy, even to the 
point of vindictiveness — straight down, with- 
out any thought of any jar to the wrists result- 
ing. This is substantially the sort of stroke 
necessary. In practice no jar or shock to the 
wrists will follow — the yielding nature of the 
sand will avert all possibility of anything - of 
the kind. Firmness and determination are 
absolutely essential in playing bunker shots. 

We are dealing now with the ball not teed 
up or lying merely on the surface of the sand, 
but with the ordinary, every-day lie met with 
— and bad enough it usually is. "Desperate 
diseases require desperate remedies," and lies 
of this sort call for strokes of a special nature. 




- 4— 




W^j^KfJ -fZtr^ ■■:■■■ 


&Z 


. 


■'. 



PLAYING OUT OF HAZARDS 

To assist in getting the club up more ver- 
tically a rather wider stance than usual should 
be taken. The greater the initial loft desired 
the more should the aim be farther back of 
the ball, allowing the head of the club to sink 
down into the sand. Do not attempt to aid the 
club in getting the ball up. The impact be- 
hind the ball, joined to the lofted face of the 
club, will do the work without any extraneous 
effort on your part. Undoubtedly the best 
club to use is the niblick, by reason of its small 
head, lofted face, and greater weight. Very 
many good players, however, use a mashie, 
which, in their hands, answers the purpose 
almost as well. 

On several courses bunkers will be found 
with high, steep faces or cops. When the 
ball is lying directly at the foot or very close 
up to one of these (unless practically teed up) 
it will be almost impossible to play it out 
straight. In such circumstances it is advisable 
to face around to the left and play at an angle, 
so as to allow a greater margin of clearance 
in the upward flight. Sometimes, however, 
this is inexpedient, when the ball is towards the 
left of the bunker, and getting it out would 
land it in rough grass or bad ground. 

If it is impossible to play to the right owing 
9i 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

to close proximity to the face, it is then better 
to play back. Each and every shot in golf 
should be played with especial reference to the 
following one. If you are bunkered close up 
to the green, then endeavor to pitch over. If, 
however, the green is some distance away and 

can be reached after playing back, then 
P gj^ s play back, especially if you have any 

doubt about getting out towards the 
hole. And in playing back alwaj^s remember, 
if the next shot is a long one, that you want to 
be sufficiently far away from the bunker to clear 
it on the following stroke and at the same time 
gain the necessary distance. Unless, however, 
the chances are much against you it is better 
to play out towards the hole. If you get out 
in this way you can't get in the same bunker 
on your next stroke, while there is always 
a possibility of doing so when the ball has 
been played back. 

There is, perhaps, no part of the game that 
calls for such exercise of judgment as when 
you are in a hazard. How many a fine score 
has been ruined by lack of discretion and self- 
control! The ball is lying badly, and you 
attempt to play it out and succeed only in put- 
ting it in a worse position. After expending 
several strokes in a vain effort to get it over 
92 



PLAYING OUT OF HAZARDS 

you determine to play it back. You do so, 
but your previous experience has proved so 
demoralizing and has so undermined your 
confidence that it is no small wonder if you 
manage to put your next shot slap into the 
trouble you have just emerged from. 

In medal play it is better to play cautiously 
and avoid taking any undue risks. In match 
play you must be governed largely by your 
opponent's score. 

Unless the ball is lying fairly well and there 
is no opposing face the stroke necessary to 
get it out of sand is different in character from 
the ordinary one. Always remember this. 
At the risk of being tiresome let us briefly 
run over what you should do. First make up 
your mind where you intend playing the ball, 
then take your stance, with feet wide apart and 
worked firmly into the sand, and with the ball 
Hit Back a bout midway between. Grip tightly 
of the with both hands and bring the club down 
as straight as possible until the sole is 
within an inch or so of the top of the sand, where 
you propose striking, behind the ball. Keep 
your eye rigidly fastened on that spot — not on 
the ball — and withdraw the club on a straight 
line up to the right shoulder; a straight line, 
mind, not a rounded one. Then bring it down 
93 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

again on the same straight line with all the 
force you can controllably command, consistent 
with accuracy. As it sinks into the sand its 
course may then, but not until then, be slightly 
directed towards the ball. It will be found a 
hard matter to bring the club down too straight 
— the natural tendency being to make a curve. 
As one is not of course permitted to sole the club 
in a hazard, a certain allowance must be made 
on this account in the aim, otherwise there is a 
great liability of hitting too close to the ball 
or even the ball itself. This point should 
also be carefully remembered in playing for 
distance out of a sand pit or fairly level stretch 
where there is no obstruction in front, and 
where it is not necessary to get the ball up 
quickly. In a case of this kind both the up- 
ward and downward hit — the term is used 
advisedly, as all bunker shots should partake 
more of the nature of a hit than a swing — 
should be less vertical, and the point of aim 
may be directed a trifle closer to the ball. 

The preceding remarks may also be applied 
to a ball in long grass, more especially with 
respect to the necessity of using a more or less 
perpendicular stroke. If the swing is more 
rounded — the ordinary stroke, in short — the 
head of the club will encounter a larger share 
94 



PLAYING OUT OF HAZARDS 

of grass, and in cutting through it a great deal 
of the power of the stroke is lost, to say nothing 
of the possibility of the head being turned 
or twisted. 

When a ball is to be played out of a hazard 
of any kind the prime consideration should be 
to make sure of getting it out. The great 
mistake which many players make is to strive 
both to get it out and get length as well, and 
in their effort to get distance (and very fre- 
quently distance would not be of any material 
help) they do not give proper attention to the 
fundamental question of hitting the ball clean 
and simply extricating it from the hazard. 
Having failed to get it out on the first essay 
they consider the wasted shot has got to be 
made up — and this is usually the beginning 
of a long procession of abortive strokes. 

When it is desired to play the ball on a certain 
line the player squares the face of the club 
at right angles thereto, which causes 
theciuL ^ to go straight if properly struck. 
Occasionally, however, this is not ad- 
visable. For instance, the ball may be lying 
at the edge of a fence where it is not possible 
to make the swing in the direction that you 
desire the ball to go. Let us take, for ex- 
ample, a ball lying within a foot or so of a 
95 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

fence parallel to the line of play, and where, 
owing to its lie, it can only be fairly hit at 
the imminent risk of sending it into the fence 
or out of bounds. 

All that is necessary is to face the club 
around in the direction that you wish to send 
the ball and play the stroke in the regular way. 
Do not change the stroke itself in any way ; 
the angle of the face of the club will do the 
work. As a further aid it is well to hit some- 
what off the toe of the club. Instead of the 
ball following the apparent line of play, as 
indicated by the swing, it will shoot off at a 
tangent, under the influence of the abnormal 
facing of the club. 



VIII 

GENERAL REMARKS 

PRACTISING. — With the majority of players 
very little, if any, time is given to earnest, 
painstaking practice; they want to play the 
round of the course and nothing but the 
round, pleading that they haven't the time 
to waste over solitary practice. Now it takes 
a very long time, under such circumstances, 
for any man to acquire any degree of pro- 
ficiency in the game. It would be infinitely 
better and more enduringly satisfactory if he 
were to steel his heart against the pleasure of 
playing around with one of his own calibre, 
and once in a while betake himself to some 
unfrequented part of the links, and with half a 
dozen old balls put in an hour or so of good, 
hard work. The duplication, again and again, 
of full strokes with each club would give him 
an opportunity, unobtainable quite so well 
in any other way, of ascertaining exactly his 
G 97 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

limitations, and furnish a chance of correcting 
existent errors. In actual playing there are 
only eighteen tee shots in the round, mostly 
full drives, with relatively less strokes with 
each other club used — excepting the putter. 
After a poor stroke of any kind, you have 
no opportunity of trying another for some 
time, and even that may possibly be just as 
badly executed, in another way. One may 
be topped, another skyed, a third sliced, and 
so on. 

The very best players will occasionally go 

off with some particular club. The remedy 

, is to go out alone, or, better still, with 

Correct- => ' ' 

ing an instructor, and master the stroke. 
Unfortunately the player cannot see 
himself, and can only determine from actual 
results what the contributory causes are. Prog- 
ress, therefore, must necessarily be slow unless 
you are under the eyes of some one competent 
to point out the actual root of the fault. If you 
are really anxious for improvement, however, 
you will not mind all the trouble which such 
practice entails, and will acquire a fund of 
knowledge that cannot but be ultimately useful. 

You will find out from such experience, by 
varying your methods of playing, how mistakes 
are made and how to correct them. Until 



3*« 



GENERAL REMARKS 

you have worked out your own salvation 
in some such way you will hardly make any 
growing or permanent improvement in your 
game. 

Take the drive, for instance. Your pet 
weakness is slicing. First look at yourself, 
as it were, and see just what you are doing 
which does not correspond with what you should 
do. Try this, that, and the other thing, until 
you see signs of improvement, and when you 
find you are on the right track keep working 
on those lines. The experimenting you have 
gone through will at least have been of some 
value in teaching you what to avoid. 

So many things are responsible for slicing, 
either singly or collectively, that it may take 
even a first-class coach some little time 
principal to put his finger on the actual seat of 
causes of th e trouble, and the chances are that it 
will take you much longer, unassisted. 
Don't be discouraged, however. "Genius/' 
Carlyle, I think, says, " is simply the capacity 
of taking infinite pains." 

It may not be amiss to here recapitulate a 
few of the principal causes of slicing : 

Hitting off the heel. 

Pulling the arms in. 

Improper position of the hands in gripping. 

LifC. 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

Gripping loosely with left hand, and tightly 
with the right. 

Standing too far back of the ball. 

Each of these faults has already been treated 
fully in a previous chapter. Now it is not a 
bad idea in seeking a cure for any faulty 
methods into which the player may uncon- 
sciously have drifted to deliberately try the 
effect of the foregoing and carefully observe 
the results, making such changes as may be 
necessary in order to arrive at accuracy. It 
may possibly happen that only one screw is 
loose, in which case a beneficial change will 
soon manifest itself. When you succeed in 
getting away several satisfactory balls con- 
secutively, take particular note of everything 
entering into the stroke. In this way, and 
this way only, can steadiness or consistency 
be the more quickly attained — the doing of 
the same thing in the same way every time. 
Never mind if your grip or stance or swing 
may be outside the pale of orthodoxy, so con- 
sidered — if you can secure distance and rea- 
sonable accuracy by any particular style 
affected, that is the style you should cultivate, 
provided it is easy and natural. 

Pulling or hooking is so comparatively 
rare, and the reasons therefor having already 
ioo 



GENERAL REMARKS 

been given, it is unnecessary to here dwell 
at any length on this fault. 

Topping is far more common, and usually 

proceeds from over-eagerness to see where the 

ball is going, the eye being diverted from 

Locking the ball before it is actually hit. The 

Up to ° same is largely true also of sclaffing. 

Soon . . . 

The remedy is to steel your mind against 
any thought of looking up until three or four sec- 
onds after the ball has been struck. This is one 
of the very hardest things to do in the whole 
game. This looking up too soon does not make 
nearly so much difference in the long game as 
in approaching or putting — there it is absolutely 
fatal. Another cause of topping or sclaffing 
is by standing too close to or too far away from 
the ball. Until you fall into the way of in- 
tuitively gauging the proper distance at once, 
it is well to make sure you are right by meas- 
uring the distance with the right arm only 
gripping the club, extended in an easy, natural 
manner, shuffling the feet until you feel per- 
fectly comfortable ; then grip with the left hand 
and don't change your position. 

After a man has acquired the art of hitting 

clean and straight, then he may proceed to 

satisfy himself as to how far and how sure 

he can go with each club. A thorough knowl- 

101 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

edge of the maximum value of the individual 

clubs is essential and can only be obtained 

by practice. If you are burdened with 

First ; a fear of being short, by all means take 

Distance more powerful club ; it is much easier 

Next _ r > 

to bring the shot off successfully with 
an easy swing with the stronger club than to 
force matters with a weaker one. Make up 
your mind to be always up to or even slightly 
beyond the hole. Never under-club a shot. 

It is advisable not to devote too much time 
to practising with any single club. With the 
Don , t driver endeavor to play straight into the 
over- wind, and take your time between each 
stroke until you have sent off half a 
dozen balls. Playing against the wind is the 
best kind of practice, as any errors of slicing, 
pulling, or skying, are more clearly made mani- 
fest. Don't drive more than five or six balls 
consecutively, otherwise the muscles will soon 
become tired. 

After the drive take your cleek and play 
the balls back, taking them just as they lie. 
Make a point of never improving the lie; 
rather go to the other extreme and place them 
in an indifferent one. Do this with all clubs, 
excepting the tee shots. If you can succeed 
in negotiating them fairly well out of a poor 
102 



GENERAL REMARKS 

lie you may rest assured you can do better 
with a good lie. 

Then take a turn at short approaches before 
trying your brassey, regulating the use of 
the clubs in such a way as not to run any 
risk of fatiguing yourself. 

Practice of this kind now and then will effect 
a very marked improvement in the game of the 
comparative beginner, and will also tend to 
strengthen the game of the more advanced 
player, far more than any amount of match play. 

If you are working up for any important match 
or tournament it is well to commence practis- 
ing a few weeks beforehand, d-evoting a 
in g for couple of hours a day twice a week to a 
thorough acquaintance with your clubs. 
Do not, however, continue such practice 
up to the day; stop two or three days before 
the competition. In the mean time play a few 
rounds, if possible, against a slightly stronger 
opponent. If a man could always play against 
a somewhat better player a very sensible im- 
provement would assert itself in his game, 
while the contrary is very apt to be the case 
if you should keep on playing with a weaker 
man. If you feel that you have any advan- 
tage at all always concede such odds as will 
compel you to play your best game to win. 
103 



Tourna- 
ments 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

Outside of the above, I do not recommend 
any special training for any important event. 
Let your habits of life, if temperate, remain 
unchanged throughout. 

All of the important tournaments in this 
country have as their basis a preliminary 
stroke competition of eighteen or thirty -six 
holes, as the case may be, those making 
either the sixteen or thirty-two lowest scores 
being eligible to continue at match play. 

The This has proved to be an admirable 
American system. No one can be considered a 
finished golfer who does not combine 
in himself the qualities needed for both suc- 
cessful stroke play and match play. The 
good medal player is not necessarily a good 
match player, nor is the good match player 
always strong at stroke competition. It is 
somewhat rare to find the player who is really 
first-class in both departments. 

In the preliminary round it is the more 
common practice to first classify the com- 
petitors on their known form before making 
the drawings. There is a good deal to be said 
in favor of such procedure, as it obviates the 
possibility of a good player having a poor 
player as his running mate, when justice is 
done to neither as a general thing. The better 
104 



GENERAL REMARKS 

player is unconsciously affected usually by 
the comparatively poor showing made by his 
competitor, and he is apt to play sympathet- 
ically, while the weaker player is striving so 
hard to play his very best to keep up that in 
the majority of cases he fails to come within 
several strokes of his normal game. 

The best course to pursue in stroke com- 
petition is to make up your mind to play each 
Hints on n °l e on schedule, arranging a mental 
Medai bogey according to the length of the 
Pay hole and 3 r our known ability to reach 
the green in a certain number of strokes, ap- 
proximated as closely as possible to par play, 
disregarding entirely the work of your com- 
petitor. Never mind what he does, play your 
own game. Let each shot be made with espe- 
cial reference to the next one, not with reference 
to the immediate one of your present competitor. 
And don't try to beat yourself. Put aside en- 
tirely any thought of what your ultimate score 
may be; play each hole for all it is worth. 
Don't allow yourself to be discouraged by a poor 
shot or a series of poor plays. Blot out all re- 
membrance of such, and concentrate your mind 
upon each individual stroke. Nor must you 
permit yourself to be unduly "set up" over 
having possibly a very good score back of you. 
105 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

Now all this applies very largely to match 
play, but not wholly, for you have now to 
a few regulate your game very frequently 
words Dv wna t your opponent does, especial- 
Match ly when he plays any particular hole 
Play unusually well. When he gets into 
trouble, pursue the even tenor of your way, 
taking no chances. But if, for instance, he 
is on the green and absolutely certain to go 
down in two more, and you are off the green 
and playing the odd, you must make up your 
mind that either the approach must be dead 
or you must somehow hole out on the next, 
particularly if you are playing two more on 
the green. If, in such or like circumstances, 
the loss of the hole seems assured, you must 
play boldly in an effort to steal a half. It 
is in such cases that the general character 
of your play must differ from stroke compe- 
tition methods. If you fail to halve the hole 
you might just as well be still playing in 
yonder bunker — whether you are one or six 
strokes more matters little if the hole be 
lost. So also must your general play be 
governed if you are, say, four down with six 
to play. Then, if ever, must you endeavor to 
get inside your opponent, and keep him play- 
ing the odd. You are playing a very up-hill 
106 



GENERAL REMARKS 

game and are bound to take chances somewhat 
out of the ordinary if you desire to win. 

Over-confidence in your ability to beat an 
opponent has lost many a match. "Thrice 
armed is he who hath his quarrel just, but 
four times he who gets his blows in fust." You 
are pitted against a man whom you can beat 
with comparative ease, and you embark on 
the round with a feeling that it does not matter 
much if you lose the first few holes — you can 
easily make them up later on. Now this is all 
wrong. Almost before you know it the game 
has advanced sufficiently far to make the result 
anything but the sure thing you anticipated, 
and a slight feeling of irritation is engendered 
that you should be " down " to a weaker player. 
This in itself is not conducive, as a general 
thing, to bringing out your best game, and 
when is allied to this feeling one of some 
anxiety as to your being able to pull up, the 
chances grow more remote of your being able to 
do so. Your opponent meanwhile, encouraged 
by his unexpected success, is brimful of con- 
fidence and is in just the right vein to play the 
best game of which he is capable. The best 
way, therefore, is to endeavor to win the first 
few holes, and not hold your opponent too 
cheaply until the match is virtually assured. 
107 



IX 

CL UBS 

To play the game properly the following 
clubs are necessary: driver, brassey, cleek, 
mid-iron, mashie, and putter. Although not 
absolutely essential a niblick may also be 
added. Many good golfers rarely carry one, 
using the mashie instead, except perhaps in 
an important match. Let us first take the 
driver. 

With all the varieties on the market — and 
their name is legion — he would be fastidious 
indeed who could not find one to suit him, 
provided he knew what he wanted. Tastes 
vary in a marked degree, and sentiment goes 
for so much as to largely account for the many 
different styles, for what may be eminently 
adapted for A would be useless in the hands 
of B. Yet we see B vainly endeavoring to 
pla}^ with a club entirely unsuited to him, 
simply because A does so excellently with 
108 



CLUBS 

one of the same kind, B being totally unmind- 
ful of the fact that their styles are wholly 
dissimilar. So many things enter into the 
make-up of the club, apart altogether from the 
model or pattern of the head (such as the lie, the 
weight, the length, and qualities of the shaft), 
that it is a rare thing to find any two exactly 
alike. It is, therefore, only by a good deal of 
experimenting that the player can arrive at any 
fair idea of what best suits him. Some- 
the ciubs body has said that it is about as difficult 
that suit {. Q se \ ec i a d r i V er for another man as it 

You 

would be a wife. A divorce from the one, 
however, is a simple matter. In the hands of a 
first-class player there is comparatively little 
difference in results between any two entirely 
different clubs that you may hand him, since 
he has the faculty of quickly adapting him- 
self to their peculiarities. And clubs have 
peculiarities, as we shall shortly find. 

It is much easier to get a club which will 
humor your peculiarities than it is to play with 
one which has peculiarities at variance with 
your natural style. Make the club suit you 
instead of making yourself suit the club. 
The great thing is to know just what you need. 
Few men have the time or the disposition 
to run through the whole tribe of clubs and 
109 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

ascertain for themselves, in a practical way, 
whether they can accomplish better work with 
a heavy head united to a stiff and long shaft, 
or a heavy one with a stiff and short shaft, or 
a heavy head with a long and whippy shaft, or 
one with a short and whippy shaft, or, finally, 
a light head with these various equipments. 
As a general thing the beginner makes the 
mistake of selecting too heavy a club, from a 

lack of appreciation of the fact that it 
Heavy is not so much the weight of the club 

which drives a long ball as it is the speed 
at which it is moving when it meets the ball. 
It is obvious that in the hands of the ordinary 
player a heavy club cannot be swung so fast 
as a lighter one. When the beginner grasps 
this fact in its true significance he will have 
made a long step towards improvement in dis- 
tance. Of course there is a limit as to the 
weight of the head. With too light a one 
the additional speed gained in the swing 
does not compensate equivalently for the lack 
of weight any more than the very heavy head 
makes up for the necessarily slower swing. 
There is a happy medium. This happy me- 
dium, however, is not a fixed quantity, since all 
men are not cast in the same mould. Some 
have very strong wrists, some strong arms, 
no 



CLUBS 

some are gifted with both, and when is joined 
to this combination a lissomeness of body, 
the naturally long driver is the result. Such 
a man is likely to have a very rapid swing, 
and will probably prefer a stiff shaft. The 
man with a less rapid swing will get equally 
as long a ball by using a more supple shaft. 
The more "music" there is in the shaft, how- 
ever, the greater is the liability to slice or pull, 
especially if the least pressing is indulged in. 

Let us take the head by itself and examine it 
in detail. It is usually made of beech, persim- 
mon, or dogwood. A beech head is gen- 
Heads erally credited with driving a slightly 
longer ball, and usually one with more 
carry. This is probably due to its more resil- 
ient qualities. Being somewhat softer than the 
other woods mentioned the ball sinks into the 
face a trifle more appreciably, and therefore is 
practically an integral part of the head for a 
fraction of a second longer. In other words, 
the head is in contact with the ball for a longer 
period of time, infinitesimally so when actually 
measured, but enough to store up a shade more 
energy in the ball. 

Beech seems to possess this quality of re- 
siliency in about the right degree, being neither 
too soft nor yet too hard. The climate here, 
in 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

however, does not lend itself to the preservation 
of the wood, and it very soon cracks in the 
face, necessitating a leather inset. With a good 
leather face, the head is almost as good as 
ever, about the only objection being that in 
wet weather the leather becomes more or less 
pulpy, and consequently does not drive quite 
so far. When the face shows signs of crack- 
ing it should not be allowed to go too far before 
being faced with leather. It will not do any 
harm to a leather face to give it a coat of good 
spar varnish. This will assist in filling up 
the pores and help to keep moisture out. The 
varnish should, however, be allowed to thor- 
oughly dry before the club is used. 

Next to beech, persimmon is a splendid 
wood, and on account of its greater durabil- 
ity is preferred by many players. It is not 
quite so resilient as beech, but drives almost 
as long a ball, and lasts much longer. Dog- 
wood is also an excellent wood, somewhat 
harder than persimmon, and more durable 
than either it or beech. Except in wet weather 
it is apparently improved in driving power 
by being leather-faced. There is so little to 
choose among the three woods mentioned that 
it resolves itself into a question largely of sen- 
timent, pretty much the same as the shape of 



CLUBS 

the head appeals to different players in various 
ways. 

Concerning models, it undoubtedly appears to 
be the tendency to materially shorten the length 
of the face, especially with class players, 
shapes The on ly advantage of a wealth of face 
is that it offers more margin for error, the 
inaccurate player being more likely to hit the 
ball with some part of it, even though a slice or 
a pull may result through the ball being struck 
with the heel or the toe of the club. The more 
accurate hitter, however, finds that the weight 
of the wood unnecessarily taken up by a long 
face can be used to greater mechanical advan- 
tage, and he accordingly proceeds to cut off 
the toe and add its equivalent weight where 
it will do the most good — behind the point of 
impact. Or he gets a new club built on these 
lines, and it does not take him long to discover 
the greater merits of the change from the 
longer balls he is enabled to drive. Another 
feature in connection with the small -faced 
head is perhaps worthy of consideration, in 
respect of the lesser atmospheric resistance 
encountered in the swing. Like the weight, 
however, the size and shape of the head are 
matters of individual preference. 

Heads may be divided into two classes, those 
H 113 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

with a scare to which the shaft is glued and 
then bound with wnipping, and those into the 
neck of which a hole is bored to re- 
Heads v. ceive the shaft. The latter are com- 
socket mon iy known as socket heads. Be- 

Heads J 

longing to the latter family may be 
included also the spliced fork, formed by saw- 
ing a narrow slit about one-quarter inch wide, 




SPLICED FORK, REGULAR, AND FLUSH-JOINT SOCKETS 

and two and one-half inches to three inches 
deep in the neck. Both of the latter class ap- 
pear to possess an advantage over the orig- 
inal type in that the spring is brought closer 
to the face, enabling a somewhat longer ball 
to be driven. Moreover, there is not the same 
liability of the head becoming unglued and 
flying off the shaft. 

Recognizing the undoubted merits of the 
114 



CLUBS 

ordinary socket head, a firm of well-known 
manufacturers have developed the principle 
still further by shortening the neck until there 
is practically no neck left, a hole being drilled 




SHOWING SECTION OF AND A SCREW SOCKET 



through what little is left of it with a left-hand 
screw, to within about one - sixteenth of the 
sole, and the shaft being firmly secured there- 
in with glue. Actual tests have demonstrated 
the longer driving power of this head. 

The question as to how the head should 
lie when affixed to the shaft is purely a mat- 
ter of individual taste. It may, how- 
TheLie ever, be remarked in this connection 
that the player who is habitually prone 
to slicing may remedy this weakness to some 
extent by using a head with the toe slightly 
115 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

cocked up when held naturally, while he whose 
besetting sin is an undue inclination towards 
pulling may find a partial corrective by using 
a flat-lying club. 

In the matter of weight, no absolutely fixed 
rule can be laid down, as so much depends 
upon the physical conformation of the 
J^Head pl a y er > an d the character of his swing. 
It may, however, be affirmed that the 
weight of the ordinary head should not be less 
than six and one -half ounces, or more than 
eight and one -half ounces. The happy me- 
dium will probably be found best suited to the 
general run of men. It will have been observed 
that these limitations apply to the ordinary 
head, by which is meant the ordinary head as 
spliced to the shaft. The socket head, and 
especially the last one of this class just re- 
ferred to, can carry a shade more weight, ow- 
ing to the saving effected by the abolition of 
the neck. 

The disposition of the lead in a head exercises 
a very marked influence on the accurate flight 
of a ball. If it be massed equally on 
of Lead both sides behind the centre of the face, 
on Direc- i\ ien a ball struck properly in the mid- 
dle of the face will assuredly go straight, 
while the same ball if hit off the heel or toe 
116 



CLUBS 

will almost surely be sliced or pulled, as the 
case may be. Consequently, if the lead be 
inserted with the bulk running towards the 
heel, a ball hit in the centre of the face will 
likely be pulled, while a ball hit in the same 
place off a club the lead in which inclines 
towards the toe will in all probability be some- 
what sliced. 

In order to avoid the possibility of any 
spin being imparted to the ball, either to the 
right or the left, it is advisable to have the 
lead put in equidistant laterally behind the 
proposed point of impact, which is the centre 
of the face. 

According, also, as to whether the lead be well 
up towards the top or down towards the sole, 
so is the trajectory of the ball affected. In the 
former case the ball will have a low flight with 
but little carry, and considerable run, while 
in the latter a high ball with but little run 
will result. 

The angle which the face of the club presents 
to the ball is a very important factor. It 
should properly be at right angles to the pro- 
posed flight of the ball. If it be hooked and 
the ball be truly hit a pull will certainly follow, 
while if the natural lie is so laid away as to face 
to the right the ball will go in that direction. 
117 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

Some players with a faulty swing or de- 
ficient follow - through purposely use a club 
slightly hooked to counteract such 
Faces weakness, particularly players who 
seem to find it impossible to avoid 
slicing. There is no doubt that a hooked 
face acts as a corrective of slicing. The 
true remedy, however, should be applied to 
the swing itself. That is where the trouble 
originates and resides. The bulger head owes 
its origin to the innate tendency of a ball 
being hit off the heel describing a curve to 
the right, and one off the toe to the left. To 
offset this the face is made with a suggestion 
of convexity, hooked, as it were, towards the 
heel and laid away towards the toe, the centre 
being practically at right angles to the true 
direction. The true type of the bulger head 
has fallen into disuse, and now the vast major- 
ity are made with practically straight faces. 

Some men have difficulty in getting the 
ball up, while others seem unable to avoid 
Drivin skying their tee shots, irrespective of 
High the face being slightly laid back or be- 
ing putter-faced, and also without ref- 
erence to the height of the tee used. This indi- 
cates that there is unquestionably some defect 
again in the swing. With a correct swing it 
118 



CLUBS 

follows that when the face of the club is laid 
back a higher ball is driven than with a club 
having a straight or putter face. The higher 
ball is perhaps more effective with the wind, or 
where a hazard involving a long carry has to 
be negotiated, but against the wind it is a bit 
of a handicap. 

By means of a comparatively straight-faced 
club, however, a high or a low ball may be 
driven, according to the height of the tee used. 
In this connection it may be remarked, en 
passant, that most players tee their balls too 
high. 

In selecting a head it is well to see that the 
grain of the wood runs at right angles to the 

The face, or approximately so, and straight 
Grain of up the neck. This not only contrib- 
utes in a degree towards greater dis- 
tance, but tends also to greater longevity, as 
it were, of the head itself by reason of the 
lesser liability of flaking or cracking. 

Before leaving the maker's hands the head 

is given a rubbing of linseed oil on all parts 

excepting the face and the sole, and 

o!ang f then varnished, in order to keep out 

moisture. A few makers even put a 

coat of varnish on the sole, and I am not sure 

that this isn't a good idea. It is advisable to 

119 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

occasionally put a touch of linseed oil on all 
parts excepting the face. Never keep clubs 
in a hot place or a damp one. In a hot at- 
mosphere the glue will be affected and loose 
heads result, and, moreover, the natural supply 
of oil in the cells of the wood will soon dry 
out, and cracks will inevitably result. In a 
damp situation moisture will be absorbed, and 
the heads will lose driving power. A cool, dry 
place is the best. 



X 

CLUB SHAFTS 

HAVING dealt with the head sufficiently in 
detail for all practical purposes let us now turn 
our attention to the shaft, which is, perhaps, the 
most important part of the whole club. A poor 
head on a good shaft makes a much better club 
than a good head on a poor shaft. It is safe 
to say that the majority of shafts as ordinarily 
turned out are not by any means first class, and 
it is harder to get a good one than a good head. 

For one really good one you will find ten 
indifferent ones, some of which indeed are 
absolutely impossible. The only remedy is 
to get your clubs from a reputable maker, or 
select the shafts yourself. 

On the whole, hickory is the best wood, 
and since this seems to be an accepted fact we 
will not trouble ourselves to discuss the relative 
merits of others which are sometimes used, 
with more or less success. 
121 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

Of the different grades of hickory the clear 
white is probably the best. In selecting a shaft 

The see that the grain runs as straight as 
selection possible throughout the entire length, 
and that the shaft recovers its straight- 
ness quickly when subjected to pressure. It is 
better, perhaps, to be very stiff, as it can then be 
worked down, and unnecessary weight be thus 
disposed of without affecting the desired spring 
or suppleness, or running any risk of its be- 
coming warped. A shaft which stays bent 
when pressure is exerted lacks driving power. 
If it springs back to its original shape and at 
the same time is straight grained, it is pretty 
sure to be a good one. Get one that fits both 
requirements. The trouble with the major- 
ity of shafts which are turned out is that the 
wood has not been properly seasoned and 
they soon lose their shape. The lighter it is 
in weight, combined with stiffness, the better. 
We are dealing now, remember, with shafts 
in the rough, although all that has been said 
applies largely to the finished article. Of 
course it is patent, in referring to the weight, 
that this has reference to the shaft before it 
is fixed to the head. Therefore, we say that 
a really good shaft should be light, while 
possessing at the same time the other qualities 
122 



CLUB SHAFTS 

mentioned. It is a somewhat singular, and, 
at first sight, rather anomalous, fact that a 
heavy shaft on, say, a seven-and-a-half-ounce 
head will make the club feel lighter than a 
lighter shaft on the same head. It is all a 
matter of balance. 

A wobbly shaft is not recommended for any 
player. The really good one has a steely 
sort of spring, which is somewhat rare to find. 
The spring should be felt throughout the en- 
tire length, but in a greater degree towards 
the head. Very frequently one will be ap- 
parently dead, without any responsiveness, 
when fitted to the head. Such a one may often 
be made just right by thinning it off slightly 
under the grip. 

The man with a very fast swing will find 
it more conducive to accuracy to use a some- 
what stiffer shaft than the player with less 
freedom. With a limber shaft in the hands 
of the rapid swinger the hands will arrive at 
the ball before the head, and slicing and pull- 
ing will probably result. In a matter of this 
kind it can only be left to the individual to 
work out his own salvation, and ascertain 
for himself the degree of suppleness needed, 
keeping in mind the general principles referred 
to. The balance of the club is largely governed 
123 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

by the length and character of the shaft. It 
may safely be said that a seven-and-a-half- 
ounce head will feel lighter on a shaft 
^shlft forty-three and a half to forty-four and 
a half inches long as measured from the 
sole of the club if gripped at forty-two or forty- 
three inches than the same head will feel on a 
shaft forty-two or forty-three inches long when 
the latter is gripped at the end. Just what the 
length should be must be left to the player's 
own judgment. Some short men play with 
long clubs, while others affect very short ones, 
and the same is true of tall men, yet the actual 
results are approximately the same. From 
forty-one to forty-four inches, as measured 
from the extreme end to the sole of the club, 
appears to be the general range. 

What has already been stated regarding 
the care of heads applies with equal force to 
shafts. They should occasionally be oiled, and 
should be kept in a dry, cool place. 

THE BRASSEY AND OTHER CLUBS 

We now come to the brassey. This is sub- 
stantially the same as the driver, excepting 
that it is a trifle heavier and more laid back, 
and has a brass plate affixed to the sole. 
124 



CLUB SHAFTS 

Usually, also, the shaft is a shade stiffen 
There is a good reason for these slight dif- 
ferences. On a hole where distance is neces- 
sary this is the club usually employed after 
the tee shot with the driver, and you are called 
upon to play the ball as it lies. If it is practi- 
cally teed up the driver is the best club to use. 
More frequently, however, it is not teed up, 
and often is lying very indifferently. To get 
it up the face of the brassey is usually laid 
back a little more than the driver, and it is 
preferably a trifle heavier than the latter, and 
with a somewhat stiffer shaft, so as to cut 
through any obstructions after the ball is 
hit. To aid in playing the ball out of a cuppy 
lie the face is all the better for being smaller 
than the driver, and the sole should also be 
more or less convex, to suit the taste of the 
user. A small head with a convex sole will 
fit into a poor lie much better than one with a 
longer face and a flat sole. 

For all round play a narrower face is better, 
assisting, as it does, in getting the ball up bet- 
Narrow tei '■ With the ball as it is ordinarily 

Face found after the tee shot there is little 

danger of getting too much under it, 

without sclaffing, and the narrow face comes 

in very useful. The deeper the face is the 

125 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

greater is the tendency to drive a low ball. A 
certain reasonable depth is all the better in a 
driver where the ball is usually played off a 
tee, but the conditions are not exactly the same 
where a brassey is called into requisition. 

The deeper the face of the brassey the more 
it requires to be laid back or lofted. Most 
brassies are made with the face both too deep 
and too long — the unnecessary wealth of wood 
being an absolute detriment instead of an as- 
sistance. 

The brass plate should not be too thick. 
The fact that the club is so protected at the 
sole is of some sentimental value, and the 
player is imbued with the feeling that he can 
bang it into the ball freely without any fear 
of harming the club, whereas with the driver 
he would be somewhat inclined to ease up 
on the stroke lest he should perchance strike 
some unseen pebble or other underlying ob- 
struction. 

The screws which hold the plate sometimes 
work loose. This trouble may easily be rem- 
edied by putting glue in the holes before in- 
serting the screws. 

The cleek is used where the distance from 
the hole is between a full brassey shot and a 
full iron, or when the ball is lying badly and 
126 



CLUB SHAFTS 

as great a distance as can be secured is neces- 
sary, and when the nature of the lie hardly 
concern- admits of the brassey being used. The 
ing the shaft should be fairly stiff, and the head 
only moderately laid back for general 
purposes. The blade should not be too long, 
and it should err on the side of being narrow 
in depth rather than otherwise. It is all the 
better, as well, to be short in the socket. The 
greater amount of weight in the blade should 
incline towards the sole. 

The mid-iron is usually employed when the 
stroke to be played is neither a cleek shot nor 
a full mashie. It is also frequently used 
Mid-iron for running-up approaches instead of 
pitching with the mashie. It is more 
laid back than the cleek and more heavily 
weighted towards the sole, with the result that 
the ball is more lofted and has less run. The 
face is all the better for being a trifle longer 
and deeper than the cleek. 

Next in order comes the mashie. This, 
I consider, should be fairly heavy — much 
heavier, proportionately, than the other 
Mashie clubs. The really best way of approach- 
ing with this club demands, ordinarily, 
that a certain amount of turf should be taken 
after the ball is hit. Very frequently, indeed, 
127 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

it happens that a good deal of turf has to be 
taken, with a vbgkqj htmdafm badl ifahtclnawt 
by reason of a poor lie with a trifle, sometimes, 
before the ball is reached. On this account 
a fairly heavy head is a desideratum, as a 
light one would be the more inclined to be 
diverted in its course from contact with the 
ground. The blade is better for being deep 
and short in the face. By the greater depth 
more latitude for error is permitted in playing 
out of a deep, grassy lie, where inaccurate 
hitting would result in getting too much under 
the ball, while the short face enables the head 
to better deal with a poor lie. The pattern 
known as the Taylor model possesses, prob- 
ably, the best all-round merits. 

The mashie is usually laid back a trifle 
more than the iron, and, as a sequence, the 
ball is pitched much higher, with relatively 
less run. It is not advisable to have too much 
loft on the face, as this calls for a more delicate 
nicety of hitting. The shaft is not so long as 
the iron, which, in turn, is generally a trifle 
shorter than the cleek. And it is all the bet- 
ter for being stiff. Avoid, above all things, a 
whippy shaft on a mashie, or, for that matter, 
on any iron club. The only object of a whippy 
shaft is to secure a somewhat longer ball. 
128 



CLUB SUA F T S 

There is no excuse for such on a mashie. 
If distance is desired use an iron, when the 
shot is one that demands a longer ball than 
can be comfortably played with the weaker 
club. 

Touching putters, their name is legion. We 
have the wooden putter with a long, straight 

face, and putters made of various metals, 
putters of all conceivable shapes and sizes and 

degrees of loft, some even with an in- 
verse loft, that is, with the face hanging in 
towards the ball. They all have merit, in 
some degree, as is evidenced by the good work 
accomplished in the hands of different players. 
Sentiment counts for a great deal. Let a man 
take a fancy to any one of the various kinds 
on the market — that's the putter for him. It's 
a very good thing to have decided views re- 
garding the style of putter you feel will suit 
you. Sad and unfortunate, however, will be 
the lot of the beginner who does not know 
what he wants, and who first leans to a goose- 
neck because A uses one, only to be captivated, 
although distrustfully, with a straight-faced 
club because B has one, to be hesitatingly 
rejected in favor of a putting cleek for a similar 
reason, and who winds up, generally in sheer 
desperation, with some new idea that is sup- 
I 129 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

posed to embody all the good qualities of all 
three, but which is found after a little while 
to perform all sorts of vagaries, due, almost 
entirely, to the player's lack of confidence 
in the club — and himself. The better plan, 
really, is to take out three or four different 
kinds of weapons and ascertain in a practical 
way, by experimenting, which accomplishes 
the best work. It will simmer down to one or 
two. If one only, so much the better; stick 
to that club and don't change it. If the choice 
resolves itself into two, get both, and con- 
tinue to use them alternately until you are 
satisfied which is the better under all sorts of 
conditions. You may possibly find that one 
is better adapted for keener greens, while 
the other is more suitable for rougher and 
slower greens. In such case it is not a bad 
plan to make a practice of carrying both, so 
that if you should happen to go off with the 
one you have the other to fall back upon. 
On the whole, however, it is much better to pin 
your faith to a single putter and to change 
the character of the stroke to suit the varying 
conditions of the greens. 

As a general principle it may be stated that 
a putting-cleek is the more useful on a very 
keen green, while the straight-faced putter is 
130 



CLUB SHAFTS 

perhaps better on a slower one. The more 
loft there is on the face the harder may the 
ball be hit, in comparison with one which 
is straight-faced. 

The shaft should be stiff, otherwise the 
slightest degree of extra strength applied to 
the stroke will cause the ball to go careering 
away past the hole. And it is the better for 
being comparatively short. The lie of the head, 
to adapt itself to a short shaft, should be more 
upright. 

We have treated severally of the driver, 

brassey, cleek, mid-iron, mashie, and putter, 

which have been referred to as necessa- 

cuJb* r Y f° r the proper playing of the game. 
Quite frequently, however, good players 
carry one or two additional clubs as a regular 
part of their equipment, so as to bridge over the 
shades of difference existing between a brassey 
and a cleek, a cleek and an iron, and an iron and 
a mashie; thus making the playing of such 
hybrid strokes more easy of accomplishment. 
Very often shots of this kind are met with. 
You may be just that distance away from the 
hole that a full stroke with a brassey would 
carry you beyond, while a full cleek would 
be a bit short. Now in order to get the exact 
distance desired you have either to let up a 
131 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

trifle with the one club or let into it a little more 
— press, in short — with the other. The thing 
can be done, of course, but there is always 
an attendant risk of failure. To meet such 
exigencies a spoon is used. This is simply 
a brassey with the face laid back more than 
usual, and with the shaft a little shorter. 

Likewise there is a niche between the iron 
and the mashie, especially where you are called 
upon to carry a hazard close up to the green 
and with some possible trouble beyond. To 
negotiate such a shot successfully it is neces- 
sary either to put cut on the ball if an iron is 
used, or to play a full mashie shot without 
sparing it. This is just where the jigger fits 
in nicely. The head is a cross between the 
iron and the mashie. The blade is not quite so 
long as the iron, is narrower, and more laid 
back in the face, and is weighted more tow- 
ards the sole. The shot off it is principally all 
carry. 

Excepting the driver, the mashie, and the 
putter, I consider that every other club should 

be played at about its maximum value, 
Three- by means of an easy, full shot, without 
q gJ^ er any attempt at forcing the stroke on 

the one hand or sparing it on the other. 
The necessary gradations of distance with each 
132 



CLUB SHAFTS 

particular club, however, may very easily be 
controlled by the extent to which it is taken 
back — not by seeking to accelerate or diminish 
the speed of the stroke. In other words, I be- 
lieve in dispensing, so far as possible, with 
three - quarter shots or half shots, excepting 
with the mashie. 

In addition to the several clubs mentioned, 
a driving-iron, or driving-mashie, or mashie- 
cleek, will be found very useful, especially for 
tee shots, or playing through the green against 
a strong head wind. 

It would hardly be proper to conclude this 
chapter without reference to the niblick, al- 
though most good players rarely car- 
Nibiick ry one, except in an important match, 
using a mashie instead. There is no 
doubt, however, that for getting out of bunkers 
or trouble of any serious kind the niblick is 
unquestionably the better club. It should be 
heavy and the shaft stiff. The head should 
be very small and well weighted towards the 
sole, and with a generous amount of loft on 
the face. 

Apropos of iron clubs generally, it is not a 

bad plan, if the shaft shrinks and gets loose 

in the hose or socket, or when putting in a new 

shaft, to glue it in. You will rarely, then, 

133 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

be troubled with loose heads, and the risk of 
breakage will also be minimized. 

BALLS 

There is not much of value to be said on this 
subject, for the simple reason that the large 
majority of the various makes on the market 
are about on a par, in so far as the gutta-percha 
article is concerned. The essential qualities 
of a really good ball are that it should possess 
resiliency and be sufficiently hard to retain 
its shape. The first requisite, that of resiliency, 
is best secured by using pure gutta-percha, 
while proper seasoning will take care of the 
rest. 

Generally speaking, if a ball stotts or bounces 
well it will fly well, the carry being percepti- 
bly longer than with one that is not 
Bails so responsive. If it floats, so much the 
better. The three leading patterns of 
moulding are the Silver town, Musselburgh, 
and Agrippa. There is practically no differ- 
ence in regard to the flight if the markings 
are clear cut and well defined; it resolves 
itself into a question of personal choice. When 
a ball ducks or does not have any well-sus- 
tained flight it will usually be found that the 
134 



CLUB SHAFTS 




FEATHER BALL 



imprint of the mould is not deep enough or is 
too thickly covered with paint. Occasionally, 
also, the erratic flight 
may be due to the 
presence of an air- 
bubble inside the ball, 
and when such is the 
case it is very liable 
to crack. 

After a ball is first 
made it should be 
stored away in a cool, 
dry place to season for 
about six months be- 
fore being painted, otherwise it will soon lose 
its shape and be very sensitive to rough usage. 
If the paint is applied 
too soon it interferes 
with the oxidization of 
the material through 
the closing of the 
pores, and the surface 
will remain compara- 
tively soft for some 
time. Usually all this 
has been attended to 
in the case of new balls offered, but in having 
them remade it is well to bear this in mind. 
135 




HAND-HAMMERED BALL 



PRACTICAL GOLF 




OLD GUTTA-PERCHA BALL 



A new ball should be from nine to twelve 
months old before being used. After a couple 
of years they deterio- 
rate in resiliency and 
become too hard. If 
the paint chips off, as 
it sometimes does, es- 
pecially with a well- 
matured ball, it may 
be rejuvenated by dip- 
ping the ball in fairly 
hot water for a little 
while, taking care not to allow the gutta to 
become too soft. A ball so treated should not 
be played with at once. 
The large majority 
of balls sold are 2ji 
size, with a few 2j's 
and fewer 28's. The 
size, like the marking, 
is a matter of indi- 
vidual preference. I 
rather favor the small- 
er size, and remade at 
that. If you have a 
good ball to start with 
it is rather improved in remaking. Less ef- 
fort is required to drive the smaller ball, while 
136 




MODERN BALL 



CLUB SHAFTS 

the only disadvantages which attach to it are 
that it is a trifle more easily affected by the 
wind, and, some contend, is harder to play out 
of a poor lie, as there is not so much availa- 
ble hitting surface. 

There you are, "you pa3^s your money and 
you takes your choice." 

Quite a number of balls will be collected 
which are perfectly good, except that the paint 
has been knocked off or otherwise af- 
ingTalis f ec ted. They need only repainting to 
be practically as good as new. First, 
it is necessary to let them stand in a bath 
made of a solution of caustic potash, or lye, to 
remove the old paint. About one-third of the 
ordinary can mixed with half a bucketful of 
water will suffice for about a couple of dozen 
balls. If the paint is obdurate apply a little 
more potash or put on a pair of rubber gloves 
and take an old brush and thoroughly remove 
all traces of the paint from the markings. 
Before applying the first coat of new paint see 
that the ball is thoroughly dry. Be careful 
also to let each coat of paint thoroughly dry 
before putting on the next. From three to 
four coats are required, each as thin as pos- 
sible. The first coat should fill in all the 
interstices. The paint may easily be applied 
137 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

by rolling the ball well in the palms of the 
hands. 

Very many substitutes have been tried in 

place of gutta-percha, with more or less success, 

but the gutta ball more than holds its 

New ° 

Kinds of own so far. There are two substitutes 
recently brought out which possess cer- 
tain merits, and are deserving of a few words. 
Let us take the "Haskell" first. This con- 
sists of a small core of gutta-percha, around 
which, while still in a plastic state, is tightly 
wound a thread of pure rubber, and is then 
encased in a thin shell of gutta about one-six- 
teenth of an inch thick, making the size about 
that of an ordinary 27I ball, and of corre- 
spondingly equivalent weight. The essential 
quality of this ball is its extreme resiliency. 
It flies quickly off the club with a soft, put- 
ty sort of feel and without the sharp click of 
the gutta. The short driver can undoubtedly 
obtain greater distance with it, but I do not 
find that the long driver gets any additional 
length. This anomaly may be accounted for 
on the theory that distance is secured and reg- 
ulated by the speed at which the club head 
is travelling at the moment of impact. With 
a gutta the greater the velocity of the head the 
longer the ball. The extent to which the ball 
138 



CLUB SHAFTS 

flattens itself against the head is governed by 
the speed of the stroke, and distance is there- 
by determined. With a very rapid swing the 
force or energy stored up in the gutta ball is 
greater than in the Haskell. The latter, by 
reason of its greater comparative resiliency, 
does not remain in contact with the club head 
quite so long, and therefore does not receive 
the full benefit of the greater velocity of the 
stroke in the same proportion as the less resil- 
ient gutta. It flies off the face too quickly to 
get the full measure of energy imparted by 
a very swift stroke. This responsiveness or 
resiliency, however, asserts itself in a greater 
and more compensating degree in the case of 
the shorter driver. It makes up, in his case, 
for the lack of speed, and he finds his distance 
very sensibly increased. 

In approaching and putting its greater 
liveliness makes it harder to control than 
the ordinary ball. It is almost impossible 
to stop it dead, no matter how much cut is 
applied, and with a green well guarded the 
user will find himself very seriously handi- 
capped. Objections also lie against it in 
putting, especially on a keen green, as it re- 
sponds so readily to the slightest tap, and, 
consequently, calls for greater delicacy in 
139 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

respect to the stroke. Its cost is about fifty 
per cent, more than the ordinary ball, and it 
cannot be remade to advantage. 

The "Maponite" is the antithesis of the 
"Haskell/' No gutta enters into its compo- 
sition, the leading constituents, I understand, 
being glycerine and cork. It is subjected to 
very great pressure in moulding, and is very 
hard, and stands any amount of rough usage 
without being materially affected. It is mark- 
edly lacking in resiliency. Its carry is not so 
great as the gutta, but the run is slightly 
longer. The difference in length is some- 
what in favor of the latter. It goes off the 
club with an unsympathetic sound and feel. 
It is not affected much by the wind, nor is it 
so easily influenced by a slice or a pull. On 
the putting-green it requires to be hit much 
harder than the ordinary ball, which is per- 
haps a strong point in its favor. Its cost is 
less than one -half of that of the ordinal 
ball. It cannot be remade at all. 



XI 

CADDIES 

A GOOD caddie is of material aid to the 
player. We have not been playing sufficiently 
long in this country to have developed the real 
article indigenous to the famous Scottish links, 
where the caddie grows up with the player, 
very often plays a really good game himself, 
and has, by virtue of years of experience, not 
only a full knowledge of the game, but also 
knows pretty thoroughly the exact limitations 
of his employer's game. And it is doubtful 
whether we shall ever be able to raise a crop 
of this kind. As golf continues to be played, so 
will the standard of our present corps of cad- 
dies be raised somewhat. But it is well to re- 
member that, as a general rule, the player has 
a great deal to do in the making of a good cad- 
die, and until players, as a body, apply them- 
selves to the proper education of the boys, there 
is little hope for any general improvement. 
141 



PRACTICAL GOLF 



As between a good caddie and a poor one, 
it is better to have none at all. The poor one 
is never up with the player, but lags behind 
chronically, not realizing that he has the same 
number of steps to take anyway; has either 




A TYPICAL CADDIE 



a much-imposed-upon expression, or else one 
of profound indifference to the game or any- 
thing relating to it; will insist upon getting 
142 



C A D D I E S 

back of your ball when you are making a 
stroke, even going out of his way to do it; 
delights apparently in rattling clubs or some- 
thing or other, or in moving or talking when 
you are putting; always requires to be told 
to remove the flag; never can tell the distance 
of any hole, in whole or in part; invariably 
hands you the wrong club; never, or very 
rarely, pretends to look where your ball goes; 
has a peculiar faculty of never being able to 
find a lost ball ; never knows how many strokes 
you, or your opponent, have played at any 
hole; neither knows nor cares whether you 
are two up or three down; will insist on stand- 
ing close up to the hole when the ground is 
very moist — sometimes, be it said in favor 
of the boy, in obedience to the player — and 
thereby making the hole akin to one of those 
impossible, in-door, practice - putting holes — 
inverted saucers with a hole in — and adding 
largely to the profane vocabulary of the most 
piously inclined ; keeps the pin in the hole and 
allows the ball to strike it and lay dead — always 
when your opponent is putting; runs, actually 
runs — of course, the only time he shouldn't — ■ 
on a very soft putting green; loses, or — new 
balls from the ball-pocket of your bag; stick- 
ing the point of the hole-marker in the ground 
143 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

on the green ; failing to properly set it in the 
hole, thereby breaking the sides; talking 
about his achievements at baseball or how 
he is saving up his money to buy a bicycle 
or something; running off after butterflies 
or apples; tells you all about the wonderful 
shots A brought off the day before; hasn't 
the faintest idea of how to make a tee; never 
takes your ball out of the hole; never thinks 
of cleaning it — in short, he does every con- 
ceivable thing which he should not, and leaves 
undone everything which he should do. 

The majority of boys employed as carriers 
of clubs are guilty, more or less unconsciously, 
of many of the faults referred to. And, after 
all, the boys themselves are not wholly at 
fault, as they have never been properly and 
systematically educated as to their legitimate 
duties. Certainly the individual player cannot 
be expected to undertake the job. The best 
plan, perhaps, would be for each club to draw 
up a summary of the qualifications of a good 
caddie and post it up where the boys may read 
it — and have the caddie-master or the profes- 
sional expound it in detail and read the Riot 
Act to known offenders. 



XII 

THE CONSTRUCTION AND 
UPKEEP OF COURSES 

THERE are comparatively few golf-links 
in this country, in the true sense of the term, 
while there are hundreds of courses. Most 
links are situated close to the sea, and the 
nearer they are to the level of the sea the bet- 
ter they are. The genuine article has a sub- 
stratum of sand, or sand and gravel, with an 
alluvial deposit of loam on the surface of 
varying depths. There are a few inland which 
possess these characteristics, but the majority 
lack the essential elements of sandy bottoms, 
and are more properly described as courses. 

On the true and relatively rare links, where 
sand enters largely into the composition of the 
soil, the grass is naturally of a finer and less lux- 
uriant nature than on the richer and more fertile 
inland soils, and much better greens are found. 

It is, of course, not always practicable to es- 
K 145 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

tablish a golf-course on the best ground adapt- 
able for the proper playing of the game, 
irrespective of the desired quality of the soil, 
and many regrettable mistakes have been 
made in this direction and a great deal of 
expense incurred in the formation of courses 
which are but sorry imitations of what they 
should be. Many of them combine a max- 
imum of mountain-climbing with a minimum 
of golf, while more are spoiled through being 
improperly laid out in respect to the distances 
of the holes or the disposition of the hazards. 
Of course this has been largely inevitable 
owing to the remarkably rapid spread of the 
game, and the lack of knowledge or inex- 
perience of players, or those having the matter 
in charge. With the growing improvement 
in play, however, it is gratifying to observe a 
more general desire to bring the courses up to 
a better standard in every way. Probably the 
some ^est courses in this country are Garden 
Good City, Wheaton, Atlantic City, Morris 
County, Newport, Nassau, Apawamis, 
Midlothian, and Myopia, while for a nine-hole 
course Meadowbrook is easily first, with West- 
brook and Oakland good seconds. The eigh- 
teen-hole course of the Ekwanok Country Club 
of Manchester, Vermont, laid out last season, 
146 



CO U R S E S 

also has promise of being a really good one in 
time. Apart from soil characteristics, all of the 
courses mentioned lend themselves favorably to 
beregardedas being pre-eminent by reason of the 
contour of the ground, the distances of the holes, 
and the matter of hazards, natural and artificial. 

A perfectly flat expanse of ground is not 
nearly so good as one with gentle undula- 
tions, affording diversity of play, and present- 
ing new and interesting problems at each hole. 
There is too much sameness with a perfectly 
level course, quite apart from the varying 
distances of the holes. On the other hand, a 
very hilly course is open to objection on ac- 
count of the physical fatigue involved, there 
being more exercise required than is commen- 
surate with the mere playing of the game it- 
self. Mountain - climbing is one thing and 
golf is distinctly another. It is never endur- 
ingly satisfactory to attempt to combine both. 

In laying out or making changes in a course 

it is highly desirable that the distances should 

Laying t> e sucn as to reward good play and not 

° ut put a premium on poor play. Consid- 
eration of distance should go hand-in- 
hand with the consideration of hazards. It is 
quite possible to have a very good course so 
laid out in respect to distances as to be entirely 
147 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

free from hazards of any kind, where each shot, 
perfectly played, would carry its own reward. 
On a single-shot hole the good player would 
be on the green in one, while on holes calling 
for two or three strokes, properly executed, 
to reach the green the distances should be on 
the basis of from one hundred and seventy- 
five yards to one hundred and ninety yards, 
or the multiple thereof, so that no opportunity 
would be afforded a player flubbing a stroke 
to make it up on the next. 

A course, however, laid out on these lines 
would be lacking in interest, as all first-class 
players occasionally make mistakes, and those 
mistakes should carry a penalty of some kind. 
Distance alone is not the essence of the game. 
Then, too, the moral effect of a hazard ought 
to be considered. It is a very potent element. 

As furnishing a really good test of golf, my 
idea of distances, based on fairly level 
^"irse 1 stretches and eliminating wind influ- 
ences, and with the hazards scientifi- 
cally arranged, is somewhat as follows : 

Out 340 310 490 150 320 360 190 510 300 — 2970 

Par Play 4 4 5 3 4 4 3 5 4~ 36 

In 115 400 350 500 270 330 370 470 315—3120 

Par 3 4 4 5 4 4 4 5 4~ 37 

Total distance, 6090 yards. Par play, 73 strokes. 
I48 



CO U R S E S 

Now these distances have not been arrived 
at in a haphazard way, but have been defi- 
nitely determined upon so as to call into req- 
uisition during the round every club in the 
bag, provided each shot has been well exe- 
cuted, and so bring out all the well-rounded 
qualities of the first-class player. Let us an- 
alyze each hole — play such imaginary round, 
as it should be played, when every shot comes 
off ideally right — and see if it comes up to the 
proper standard. We will assume that we 
can drive from one hundred and seventy-five 
to two hundred and ten yards ; brassey, one- 
hundred and seventy to one hundred and ninety 
yards; get from one hundred and fifty to one 
hundred and eighty yards with cleek or driving- 
mashie; one hundred and twenty to one hun- 
dred and fifty yards with a mid-iron, and 
lesser distances with a mashie. There is 
nothing extravagant in these distances, with 
class players. 

At the first hole (three hundred and forty 
yards) we find confronting us a bunker one 
hundred and twenty-five yards from the tee, 
with hazards beyond on either side to catch 
a sliced or pulled ball. We get over the bunker 
safely with some fifty or sixty yards to spare. 
Some eighty yards from the green is a sand 
149 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

ditch. A cleek shot will carry this and land 
us comfortably on the green, without over- 
running into the long grass on the other side. 
The regulation two putts and we are down in 
a par four. 

On the second hole (three hundred and ten 
yards) all is plain sailing on the drive, except 
for the omnipresent long grass on either side 
of the fair green, and which is a feature of 
nearly every hole on the course. Some sixty 
yards from the green is another wide sand 
ditch, with the same rough going the far side 
of the green that will be found on nearly every 
hole. An ordinary iron shot should easily 
enable us to get the green. 

Third hole (four hundred and ninety yards). 
Some two hundred and fifty yards from the 
tee a road has to be carried on the second shot, 
otherwise there is no trouble. A drive, brassey 
and iron will land us on the green in three 
strokes. 

Fourth hole (one hundred and fifty yards). 
A full iron ought to land us on the green and 
escape the bunker one hundred and fifteen 
yards from the tee. 

Fifth hole (three hundred and twenty yards). 
Another drive and iron. The only features 
of this hole are long grass one hundred yards 
150 



CO U R S R S 

from the tee, and a sand ditch thirty-five yards 
or so beyond the hole. 

Sixth hole (three hundred and sixty yards). 
Another road crosses the line of play two 
hundred and eighty yards from the tee. Two 
good shots should reach the green. 

Seventh hole (one hundred and ninety 
yards). There is nothing at all to interfere 
with a good drive here, and the long player 
will get home without any special effort. 

Eighth hole (five hundred and ten yards). 
Fifty yards from the green is a wide sand ditch, 
which may easily be carried with an iron, or 
cleek, if the drive and brassey have not been 
particularly long. 

Ninth hole (three hundred yards). A road 
one hundred and forty-five yards off, with 
broken ground intervening, abounding in 
poor lies, makes a good drive necessary. No 
other hazards. 

Tenth hole (one hundred and fifteen yards). 
A pond stretches from the foot of the tee some 
eighty yards across to the green, which is 
fully guarded by wide sand ditches at the back 
and sides. A full mashie should land close 
up to the hole. 

Eleventh hole (four hundred yards). Here 
is where the very long player should meet 
151 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

with due reward if he gets off two screamers. 
The bunker, three hundred and twenty yards 
from the tee, ought not to have any terrors for 
him or for the ordinary good player. 

Twelfth hole (three hundred and fifty yards). 
This will be played the same as the first hole, 
excepting that the going is free from hazards 
—save the long grass beyond the green to 
catch an over-play. 

Thirteenth hole (five hundred .yards). One 
hundred and forty yards from the tee a bunker 
has to be carried. 

Fourteenth hole (two hundred and seventy 
yards). From the tee to the fair green, one 
hundred and thirty yards away, the grass 
has been left uncut. The green is surrounded 
with bunkers some thirty yards equidistant 
from the hole, necessitating a high lofted ap- 
proach with cut to hold the green. 

Fifteenth hole (three hundred and thirty 
yards). Very sandy soil, with indifferent lies, 
marks the going for some one hundred yards 
until a slight depression is reached where the 
lies are excellent for another one hundred 
and twenty yards. Thenceforward, until about 
eighty yards from the green (which is in an- 
other slight depression) poor lies are the rule. 

Sixteenth hole (three hundred and seventy 
152 



CO U R S E S 

yards). A brook has to be crossed on the 
second shot, some two hundred and ninety 
yards from the tee. 

Seventeenth hole (four hundred and seventy 
yards). Two hundred and forty yards from 
the tee is a wide sand ditch. The green is on 
a plateau of about forty yards square, dipping 
down slightly on all sides. 

Eighteenth hole (three hundred and fifteen 
yards). One hundred and ten yards away 
is a ravine about thirty yards across, with an- 
other eighty yards beyond the hole. 

Such is a brief sketch of a course that ought 
to bring out all the good golf there is in a man 
to do it in a decent score. An endeavor has been 
made to arrange the distances and likewise the 
hazards so that it is practically impossible to 
get off a poor shot and make a recovery on the 
next, save by some phenomenal stroke. 

The large majority of courses have too many 

levelling holes, of from two hundred and twenty 

to two hundred and sixty yards, and 

L Hoie S nS w ^ n the hazards so arranged that a 

player may top a drive and yet get the 

green on the next shot by simply taking a full 

stroke with some club, in the same number of 

strokes as the man who has played the hole 

perfectly. Or the hole may be from four hun- 

153 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

dred and fifteen to four hundred and thirty 
yards, calling for three strokes to get home, the 
first or second of which may be topped or sliced 
or pulled without any loss, it being compara- 
tively easy to reach the green in three, while 
the better player, making each stroke per- 
fectly, cannot do better than expend the same 
number of strokes. The true remedy is to so 

apportion the distances as to demand 
Distances the playing of one, two, or three perfect 

strokes, as the case may be — or when 
this is not practicable to so arrange the hazards 
as to catch a poorly played stroke. In respect 
to distances, a single-stroke hole may be any- 
where from one hundred yards up to two hun- 
dred — two hundred being the maximum, as 
anything beyond that is scarcely within the 
compass of any but the extraordinarily long 
driver. Coming now to holes of greater length, 
it is advisable to proceed upon some proper 
basis. Anything between one hundred and 
fifty yards and one hundred and ninety yards 
may be taken as a fair mean, the lesser dis- 
tance being accepted as a fixed minimum. 
Thus we have one hundred and fifty yards 
or the multiple of three hundred yards for a 
two-stroke hole, or four hundred and fifty 
yards for a three - stroke hole, on the one 
154 



COURSES 

hand, with one hundred and ninety, three 
hundred and eighty, or five hundred and sev- 
enty yards on the other. Anything within 
these limits of from one hundred and fifty to 
one hundred and ninety yards, forming the 
basis, may be accepted as furnishing little 
room for recovery without penalty in case of a 
poor stroke, while anything outside of the lim- 
its mentioned tends rather to pull the better 
player down to the level of the poorer one. 
Somewhere between one hundred and fifty 
and one hundred and ninety cannot be far 
wrong. Take the mean of one hundred and 
seventy yards, or the multiple of three hundred 
and forty yards, for instance; it is obvious 
that the player cannot hope to reach the green 
on his second shot when he has failed to get 
off a fairly respectable drive. To do so he 
must make an exceedingly long second. And 
unless he can rise to the occasion by perform- 
ing such an exceptionally brilliant stroke it is 
only fair and proper that the poor drive should 
be meted with some penalty. 

It may be contended that a course such as 
we have outlined may be suited for first-class 
players, but that the large majority of the 
players in nearly every club fall short of such 
excellence, and that therefore the course should 
155 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

be laid out with reference to the majority, who 
otherwise would be spending the greater part 
of their time in bunkers. Not at all; there is 
no such need to prostitute the game. Lay out 
the course in every way solely with regard to 
its being fully up to the highest standard at 
Aitema- * ne outset, and until improvement in 
«ve play manifests itself construct alterna- 
tive tees — two or three, if necessary, for 
each hole — so as to make it possible for the 
weaker players to better negotiate the hazards. 
It doesn't involve much trouble or expense to 
build up tees and provide sand-boxes, etc., for 
each, while it means both time and money to 
build up a new green. The alternative tees 
spoken of may be so arranged as to shorten 
the holes from twenty to fifty yards, or what- 
ever distances may be desired. All competitions, 
however, should be played over the full length 
of the course. Endeavor, so far as possible, to 
avoid constructing artificial tees. Where it is 
necessary to do so try and get them as large 
as possible, so as to keep them in good repair 
by constantly changing the plates or teeing- 
marks. Aim to have all built-up tees sodded. 
Anything but turf tees is an abomination. 
A tee should have almost as much care as a 
green, and should be freely watered in summer. 
156 



CO U R S E S 

We have already stated that the distances 
of the holes referred to have been laid out on 
the assumption that the ground is fairly level, 
and also without any regard to the wind. 
The majority of courses are not level, and on 
some the wind is a very potent factor. Con- 
sequently, it is essential that these elements 
should be carefully considered, according to the 
natural contour of the surface and the pre- 
vailing winds during the playing season. We 
say during the playing season, as very few 
courses in this country can be played over 
during the whole year. 

No bunker on a first-class course should 
be so arranged as to trap a good drive, or, 
following a good tee shot, to catch a 
Bunkers good second with the green yet some 
distance away. Bunkers should be 
arranged with the primary idea of penalizing 
poor play only. Nor should they be made 
with perpendicular and precipitous faces so 
as to make it almost impossible to get out 
in one stroke. Instead of the array of steep 
cops with narrow ditches which disfigure so 
many courses, aim rather to make the cops 
more semicircular in shape, and to have wider 
ditches leading up to them. It is better, also, 
if possible, to cover the embankments with 
157 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

sand rather than to have them turfed, and 
to likewise fill the ditch with several inches 
of sand, so that the ball should be played 
where it lies, and thus avoid the necessity 
of any local rule providing for the dropping 
in the bunker or ditch of a ball lodging in or 
on the face of the turfed creations. All arti- 
ficial hazards should be made of or liberally 
covered with sand. 

The width of the fair green should be about 
seventy-five yards. Particular attention should 
be paid to the places where good shots 
c ' ourse ° should go, say from one hundred and 
twenty to two hundred and twenty 
yards from the tee, and so on correspondingly 
with long holes, so that each good shot should 
be rewarded with a good lie. Rather let the 
intervening ground go somewhat neglected, as 
a player has no business there anyway. On 
the sides hazards should be arranged to catch 
sliced or pulled balls, where long grass is not 
present. Endeavor to so construct the haz- 
ards as to furnish some diversity, rather than 
have them all of the same family type. 

In laying out a new course or making 
changes in an old one, it is highly advisable 
to secure expert advice before commencing 
work. 



XTII 
PUTTING GREENS 

THE climate in this country can hardly be 
said to lend itself to the growth or develop- 
ment of natural greens of the first rank. The 
extreme heat and cold are not favorable allies. 
Therefore, all really good greens call for arti- 
ficial treatment from their inception to protect 
them from adverse climatic conditions and to 
insure their being kept well. In the first 

place, it is absolutely essential that 
Ifw^ter eacn green should be freely watered 

during the summer months, and this 
can only be properly done by laying a system 
of pipes. Unless this is done the grass be- 
comes blistered by the heat and drought, and 
the ground gets hard and lumpy. 

Nearly all good courses have water laid on 
to every green. It is not too much, in fact, 
to say, that no first-class green can be main- 
tained without such aid, intelligently applied. 
159 



PR A C T I C A L GOLF 

The best time to do the watering is after 
the sun is down, otherwise possible injury 
may result to the grass, to say nothing of the 
loss from evaporation on a hot, sunny day. 
The water should be applied in a fine spray, 
not on any account in a solid stream or un- 
broken jet, which is liable to make the sur- 
face rough by washing out the soil. It should 
be kept going sufficiently long to thoroughly 
percolate through to the roots of the grass. 
It is much better to thus soak a green twice 
a week than to simply moisten the surface 
nightly. More especially does a new green 
demand a liberal supply of water in order to 
give the young grass a chance to get well 
rooted. 

Where the natural conditions are favorable 

it is advisable to build up a green from the 

old turf. But if coarse grass exists to 

mation of any extent, then it is better in the long 

New run to resort to sodding. In the event 

Greens . 

of good sod not being available, there 
is but one thing left to do, and that is to 
plough up the surface to a depth of a foot or 
so and remove all loose material. Then pro- 
ceed to fill in a layer of sand a few inches 
in depth, and cover it with good loam about 
an inch or so thick; on top of this put a thin 
160 



PUTTING GREENS 

crust of well-rotted manure, and then another 
layer of loam of two or three inches. At this 
stage apply a dressing of bone-dust, with a 
touch of slacked lime. Cover this with a 
suggestion of sand, superficially only, and 
top off with loam, the surface being raked 
and finely pulverized. Sow liberally with a 
mixture of recleaned Red Top, Rhode Island 
Bent, Creeping Bent, Crested Dog's Tail, and 
Kentucky Blue grass, and level off and roll 
with a very light roller. It is of prime impor- 
tance that the ground should be abundantly 
supplied with moisture to make sure of the 
roots becoming firmly established, as it is not 
always safe to rely upon Dame Nature to look 
after this end of the business. Err on the 
side of an apparent excess of moisture rather 
than an insufficiency, especially during the 
early stages and the first season. 

Aim to give diversity to the greens in respect 
to the character of the surface, avoiding as 
far as possible dead levels. Rather let the 
contour be of a gently undulating nature here 
and there. This may very easily be done 
also in the case of sodded greens. 

Where there is a fairly good foundation to 
work upon in the shape of average turf that 
offers promise with a little nursing, it is better 
L 161 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

to accept what the gods give us and make the 
best of it. Proceed first by carefully removing 
by the roots any weeds or coarse grass; then 
gently loosen the surface, particularly on bare 
spots, with a rake, and cover with a thin dress- 
ing over the entire green of rich loam previous- 
ly mixed with bone-dust and, if possible, sheep 
manure, with a liberal admixture of the grass 
seeds already mentioned. Rake over thor- 
oughly with a wooden rake, and lightly 
roll and keep freely watered. Well - rotted 
manure is a good plant food, in conjunction 
with bone-dust, but the paramount objection 
to it is that it is apt to contain weed germs, 
consequently it cannot be safely recommend- 
ed at any time for top-dressing. Pulverized 
sheep manure is also excellent, but not so 
readily procurable. A slight sprinkling of 
wood-ashes will do no harm. Avoid, how- 
ever, any over-indulgence in potash fertilizers, 
as they provoke a growth of clover, and clover 
ciover is °^ an y kind has no place on a course, 
unde- Unless it is kept very closely cut on 
the greens, it has a very "draggy" 
and retarding effect on the run of a ball, and 
is therefore undesirable. It is also objection- 
able through the fair green, as it has no sus- 
taining power to hold a ball up. The ball 
162 



PUTTING GREENS 

sinks through the yielding cluster of leaves 
and stems and so embeds itself that it has to 
be dug out by the roots as it were. Before 
the face of the club can reach the ball in a 
patch of clover it has first to come in contact 
with the intervening leaves, and the stroke is 
thus robbed of a good deal of power. 

The ideal putting-green is covered with a 
close sward of very fine grass, with a thick 
matting of roots. The blades should be fine 
and slender, silky and yet tenacious — en- 
tirely different from the ordinary first-class 
lawn. A coarse, large-bladed grass, the prod- 
uct of undue fertility, is not what is wanted 
— quite the contrary. Putting, in the true 
sense of the word, is impossible on such. 
Really good greens are to be found natural- 
ly on sandy soils, or rather where the sub- 
stratum is of sand with a surface deposit of 
loam. 

Comparatively few courses are blessed with 
such, but much may be done to bring almost 
Need of an y g reen U P to a better level- by ap- 
impover- proximating the conditions and con- 
stituents of these seaside greens by a 
liberal use of sand, the free application of 
which, during the fall and early spring months, 
will work a most beneficial change. Most in- 
163 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

land greens need impoverishing instead of en- 
riching. Sand will do this to a marked ex- 
tent, and a finer growth of grass will result. 

A close and prolonged study of this question 
convinces me that the best treatment for the 
Dressin g enera l run °f greens is a liberal ap- 
f°r plication of sand, seed, bone-dust, lime, 
and water. Neither the sand, the bone- 
dust, nor the lime, however, should be put on 
during the summer months. Commencing in 
October, a sprinkling of sand, bone-dust, lime, 
and clear, white sea-sand should be applied, 
while the greens are still in use. The sand 
will quickly work itself into the soil, and as 
fast as it does more should be sprinkled on 
until it is decided to close them for the winter. 
Then a more liberal supply of bone-dust may 
be added, and the entire surface of the green 
be covered with about half an inch of sand. 
The snows and rains of the winter will leave 
very little trace by spring. In April or May 
— according to the latitude — put on a very thin 
coat of fine loam mixed with bone - dust and 
plenty of seed. On top of this sprinkle a sug- 
gestion of sand, and see that the greens have 
plenty of water, if the natural supply is defi- 
cient. Run a very light roller over so as to 
make an even surface. If any weeds make 
164 



PUTTING GREENS 

their appearance, carefully remove them by the 
roots, and fill in with the compost mentioned. 
After the warm weather sets in abstain from 
sand, and water freely. 

The application of sand will not only refine 
the quality of the grass itself, but will make 
it more impervious to wear. Not only that, 
but it will tend to minimize the worm nuisance. 
Concerning worms, it may safely be said that 
the richer the soil the greater is the wealth 
of worms, and, inversely, the poorer the soil 
the greater freedom from this curse. As we 
have already remarked, the soil on the majority 
of greens needs impoverishing. This alone 
would beget a better, because poorer, quality 
of grass. You are not seeking to raise hay 
crops. 

There are some worm mixtures on the 
market which are excellent but somewhat ex- 
pensive. A very good and inexpensive 
worms substitute may be found by boiling 
a couple of bars of ordinary yellow 
laundry soap, and mixing it with a barrelful 
of from thirty to forty gallons of water, apply- 
ing the mixture freely through an ordinary 
watering-pot. This will bring the worms to 
the surface in myriads, when they may easily 
be gathered. A few applications during the 
165 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

spring and autumn months, when the worms 
are most active, will materially abate this 
nuisance. Care must be taken not to have 
the solution any stronger than recommended, 
otherwise the alkali present will injure the 
grass. With the proportion suggested, how- 
ever, no possible harm will result. 

Before cutting or rolling a green where 
worm casts are in evidence, they should first 
be thoroughly scattered by brushing with 
an old house or stable broom. This is very 
important. Unless this is done the roller will 
plaster them down and kill the grass so cov- 
ered, and bare, moth-eaten appearing patches 
will assuredly be produced. Apart altogether 
from worm casts any green may be improved 
by "combing" or lightly brushing before 
cutting or rolling. 

The holes should be changed frequently. 

Do not wait until signs of wear are apparent. 

chan e ^ n cutting new holes, especially during 

Holes the summer months, when the ground 
is dry and crumbling, the top sides may 
the better be kept intact by filling the hole 
with water immediately it is cut. And the 
same practice applied to the old hole before re- 
filling will give the transplanted inset a better 
chance to quickly mould itself into and become 
166 



PUTTING GREENS 

an integral, even part of its new home. Many 
green-keepers do not cut the holes sufficiently 
deep. The upper edge of the tin or cup should 
be about half an inch below the surface of 
the ground. It frequently happens, especially 
during a tournament with a large number 
of players, that a circular depression about a 
foot from the hole is caused by the heels of 
the caddies, particularly when the ground is 
soft. This does not by any means assist the 
ball in rinding the bottom of the hole. This 
state of affairs will continue to exist so long 
as caddies are allowed to stand close up to 
the hole. But it may be remedied by having 
a man go around with a tamper, formed by 
joining together a couple of pieces of solid 
pine each a full inch or so thick and about 
eighteen inches square, with a handle in the 
centre running through the top plank. A 
few gentle taps with this around the neigh- 
borhood of the hole will flatten down any 
irregularities. 

Nothing improves a green so much as be- 
ing constantly played upon, provided that the 
holes are frequently changed, before they show 
any evidence of wear in close proximity to 
the hole. The human foot is a great agen- 
cy, and wonderfully assists the work of the 
167 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

roller. Every green should be rolled daily 

with a light roller — whether it apparently 

needs it or not. It sometimes happens 

and that in anticipation of an important 

cutting tournament the powers that be elect 

Greens x 

to give the greens a rest in order that 
they may be in apple-pie condition during 
the meeting. The grass is allowed to grow 
and the greens are left fallow for a week or 
so beforehand, general play in the mean time 
being confined to some rough part outside of 
the sacred precincts of the regular green. 
This is a grave mistake. When the grass is 
cut a day or two before the event, the truncat- 
ed portion left is necessarily more or less stub- 
bly and rough, and putting, actual putting, is 
wellnigh impossible. The ground itself, by 
reason of the cessation from rolling, naturally 
works up and forms itself into all sorts of 
roughnesses, so that, in order to work it down 
into comparative smoothness of surface, a very 
heavy roller must be employed — to the possible 
injury of the grass later on. 

I am firmly of the opinion that the present 
method of closing and covering up the greens 
upon the approach of and during the winter 
season is unwise. Leaving out of the ques- 
tion for the moment the actual playing on 
168 



PUTTING GREENS 

them, it seems to me that the artificial pro- 
tection afforded by covering them with manure, 
winter straw, or anything else (save a little 
piay on sand), unfits the grass to withstand 
the severities of play, especially during 
the summer months. This hot -house kind 
of pampering care may be adapted for lawns, 
but not for putting - greens. When uncov- 
ered in the early spring a beautiful green 
oasis is disclosed, which quickly vanishes after 
a brief spell of cold or hot weather, and the 
blades soon wear a shrivelled-up appearance. 
Moreover, greens so treated are more suscep- 
tible to wear from ordinary play. Except 
in the case of a newly seeded green, I ques- 
tion the advisability of any winter covering. 
On a new green it is of course necessary to 
aid the roots as much as possible in getting 
well started, more especially if sown in the 
fall. But we are now more immediately con- 
cerned with greens that have been down for 
several seasons, and which have become fairly 
well rooted. 

It is the common opinion that a green will 
be irretrievably ruined by playing on it dur- 
ing the winter months. This is a delusion. 
Observe carefully, at the beginning of spring, 
the actual condition of temporary greens set 
169 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

apart on many courses for the winter. There 
is nothing then — or subsequently — to give the 
slightest indication that the roots have been 
impaired in the least degree — nor have they. 
Yet play has gone on alike when the ground 
has been as hard as adamant from severe 
frost and as soft and spongy as a quagmire 
from resultant thaws, and when putting can 
only be done with a mashie, owing to the 
pock-marked state of the surface from heel- 
marks and muddy unevennesses. Yet such 
greens come out all right and seem rather to 
be improved than otherwise. On some courses, 
indeed, general play is maintained through- 
out the entire year on the regular greens, 
without detriment or injury of any kind. 
This is doubtless due to the fact that 
Romng the roots are, during this period, in 
I a quiescent state and cannot sustain 
any harm so long as the greens are kept 
rolled when the ground is soft. With a light 
roller too much rolling in winter can hardly 
be done with any possible injury, thanks 
to the upheaving influences of frost, which 
prevent any possibility of the ground being 
packed so hard as to cause the grass to be- 
come root-bound. 

From May until October each green should 
170 



PUTTING GREENS 

be rolled daily with a light roller, rather than 
once or twice a week with a heavy one. A 
roller, moreover, should always be pulled, 
not pushed. And, except in July and August, 
the grass should be kept closely mown and 
freely watered when necessary. During the 
extremely hot months the cutting-bars of the 
mowers should be slightly raised, so as to 
allow a somewhat denser growth as a pro- 
tection for the roots. The proper care of 
greens demands unceasing care and unre- 
mittent, intelligent attention. Eternal vigil- 
ance is the price of first-class greens. 



XIV 

HANDICAPPING 

THE essence of handicapping is to put all 
the players on a common level — to give the 
poorest player an equal chance to win with 
the rest of the field. In order to adjust the 
handicap fairly it is necessary to work upon 
some definite principle. As a general thing 
this is comparatively easy, especially if a 
record is kept of the scores of the players. 
To assist the handicap committee in establish- 
ing the status of each member, at least three 
consecutive scores, duly attested, should be 
handed in by every player, and a detailed 
record should be kept for future reference. 
Scores made in competition should also be 
recorded. Any failure to hand in a 
competitive score should be visited by 
a penalty of a stroke in the delinquent's 
handicap. With some such system it would 
not take long to arrive at a fairly definite idea 
172 



Handi- 



HANDICAPPING 

of the capabilities of each and every player. 
As a further aid it is not a bad plan to get 
each player to fix the handicaps of all the 
other players, particularly in newly formed 
clubs, until something is known by the han- 
dicappers of the members' respective abilities. 

The handicap committee should consist of 
not more than three, who should be in frequent 
touch with the active players. After every 
competition, revisions, if necessary, should be 
made in the official ratings, which should be kept 
posted, in alphabetical order, in the club-house. 

In establishing the handicaps it is cus- 
tomary to work up from the best player in 
the club, who is rated at scratch. By far the 
better plan, however, is to take as a basis the 
par — not the bogey — of the course, which is a 
fixed quantity. Par golf, it may be remarked, 
is perfect golf, determined according to the dis- 
tances of the holes and with two strokes allowed 
on each green, while bogey simply represents 
the score of a good player who occasionally 
makes a mistake, not very glaring, but suffi- 
cient to make a difference in the round of four 
or five strokes. Bogey is an elastic quantity, 
however, so much so, indeed, on some courses, 
as to furnish no true criterion of the game of 
the player who now and then beats the Colonel. 
173 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

If all clubs adopted the practice of handi- 
capping from par it would be an easy matter 
to fix the standing of every player through- 
out the country. As it is, however, a scratch 
player at Stumpville may conceivably be en- 
titled to a handicap of nine strokes from a 
scratch man at Bunkerville. This, of course, 
has to be taken into account by the handicap 
committee in an open handicap tournament, 
and adds materially to the difficulty of placing 
all the competitors on an equitable footing. 
So far as New York and its immediate vicinity 
is concerned the Metropolitan Golf Association 
has accomplished a very good work by classify- 
ing all the players of the various clubs in the 
association up to a limit of seventeen strokes. 
The handicaps are fixed at the beginning of 
the season, and, necessarily, are based upon 
the performances of the preceding season. So 
far as it goes this official ranking of the players 
has proved of much assistance, but it would 
perhaps be of greater value if the list were re- 
vised at least once during the season — after 
the local championship meeting, for instance.* 

* EDITOR'S NOTE.' — Since the foregoing was written it 
has been decided by the Metropolitan Golf Association to re- 
adjust the handicaps twice each season — at the beginning 
of the season, and again in August. 

174 



HA N D I C A P P I N G 

The Metropolitan Golf Association ratings, 
in common with the large majority of individual 
clubs' handicap lists throughout the country, 
rest upon score play only. Each club, how- 
ever, should compile a separate table of 
Piay strokes for match play instead of, as is 
Handi- usua i allowing three-fourths of the dif- 

capping ° 

ference in handicap allowances, count- 
ing a half-stroke, or over, as one. As a gen- 
eral thing such difference is applicable to most 
players, but, obviously, not all. For example, 
A, the scratch player of a club, may average 
eighty, while B's average score is ninety, gen- 
erally due to a few poorly played holes. To 
average eighty on a good course presupposes 
fairly consistent play. Now in match play A 
would have to concede B eight strokes on the 
latter's handicap of ten strokes in score com- 
petition. Let us take the hypothetical average 
cards of each and see what the result would be : 



A's score, 


out : 


4 


3 


4 


5 


4 


4 


5 


5 


5—39 


B's score, 


out : 


4 


3 


6 


5 


4 


3 


7 


5 


7—44 


A's score, 


in : 


5 


5 


4 


5 


4 


5 


5 


5 


3—41 


B's score, 


in : 


6 


5 


4 


7 


4 


5 


6 


5 


4—46 



Playing level, A would beat B four up and 
three to play. Conceding eight strokes, how- 
ever, one each at the second and each alternate 
175 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

hole up to the sixteenth, it will be seen that 
B would beat A three up and two to play. 

This is an example of simply an ordinary 
case. There are, of course, a few more pro- 
nounced, where the difference would be much 
greater, both in favor of and against the 
scratch man. It is quite possible for a player 
to be good at medal play and poor at match 
play, and vice versa. A poor score-card may 
show remarkable strength at hole play, strong- 
er, indeed, than one aggregating half a dozen 
strokes less for the round. 

In order to gauge the game of a player 
as a match player — which, after all, is the 
supreme test of golfing ability — it should be 
incumbent on the handicappers to carefully 
analyze the score for each hole, such analysis 
embracing at least three or four typical or 
representative cards, before any fair allowance 
can be made applicable to hole play, consid- 
ered alone. Nor is this the only essential. 
Regard must also be had for the known 
strength or weakness of the player at both 
score play and match play, as the case may 
be. Few men are relatively good at both. No 
hard and fast rule can be laid down, as tem- 
peraments vary, and sometimes in opposite 
directions. 

176 



HA N D I C A P P I N G 

Sufficient has been said to indicate the 
necessity of fixing separate handicaps for 
score play and match play, certainly in some 
cases, instead of simply accepting the aggre- 
gate medal score as the basis and universally 
allowing the regulation three - fourths of the 
difference. 

The match play allowance in foursomes is 
three-eighths of difference between the aggre- 
gate handicap allowance on either side, a 
half-stroke, or over, counting as one, smaller 
fractions not being considered. 

In match play strokes received are usually 
taken as shown in table on page 178. 

Most clubs, however, may find it advisable 
to arrange a schedule of their own, accord- 
ing to the special nature and difficulty of the 
various holes. Such list should be posted in 
the club-house. 

Another form of handicapping which is 
productive of very interesting matches is to 
allow your opponent so many "holes up" at 
the start. The usual mathematical propor- 
tion is two-thirds of the medal handicap. For 
instance, if the handicap allowance is nine 
strokes, six holes are conceded by a scratch 
player. This principle must, however, be 
modified somewhat as the higher handicaps 
M 177 



PRACTICAL GOLF 



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HA N D I C A P P I N G 

are reached. Such system is not applicable 
to a club where members receive such handicaps 
as twenty to thirty strokes, as on the latter 
basis the scratch player would start twenty 
holes down in eighteen, which, of course, is 
ridiculous. 

Another method, less commonly observed, 
is the giving of so many bisques, each repre- 
senting a stroke to be taken at the pleasure 
of the player receiving them, after the hole 
has been played. The use of a bisque at a 
halved hole converts a half into a win in favor 
of the receiver, or into a half if only one more 
stroke has been taken. 

Still another plan is to concede all holes as 
lost when halved, only those won outright 
counting in favor of the giver of such odds. 

Generally speaking, the three last men- 
tioned methods of adjustment are better adapt- 
ed for private matches than for regular com- 
petitions, as it is much easier for two players 
to arrange their own terms between themselves 
so as to place them on a very close level, than 
it would be for the handicap committee to ar- 
rive at anything like satisfactory results with 
a large field. Everything considered, the sys- 
tem first referred to is capable of broader ap- 
plication, and fairer, generally, when the com- 
179 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

petition embraces a number of players. The 
mutability of the game of the average player 
makes it impossible to reduce any system of 
handicapping to an exact science — and it is 
perhaps just as well that it is so. 



THE RULES OF GOLF 

AS APPROVED BY 

THE ROYAL AND ANCIENT GOLF CLUB 

OF ST. ANDREWS 

IN 1899 

With Rulings and Interpretations by the 
Executive Committee of 

THE UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 

IN I90O 



PREFA CE 

THE United States Golf Association, in making 
these Rulings and Interpretations, has made no 
change in the wording, nor in the import, of the 
Rules of Golf, as adopted by the Roj^al and An- 
cient Golf Club of St. Andrews, but has only add- 
ed such definitions and explanations as appeared 
to be called for, or suggested by custom and de- 
cisions of competent experts. 



RULES OF GOLF 

I. DEFINITIONS :— (a) The Game of Golf is played by 
sides, each playing its own ball. A side consists either 
of one or of two players. If one player play against another, 
the match is called "a single." If two play against two, 
it is called " a foursome." A single player may play against 
two, when the match is called "a threesome," or three players 
may play against each other, each playing his own ball, 
when the match is called " a three-ball match." 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

" Match Play " is decided by the number of 
holes won. 

"Medal Play" is decided by the aggregate 
number of strokes. 

"Colonel Bogey" is an imaginary opponent, 
against whose arbitrary score each competitor 
plays by holes ; otherwise bogey competitions are 
governed by the Special Rules for Stroke Com- 
petitions, except that a competitor loses the hole : 

When his ball is lost. 

When his ball is not played where it lies, except 
as otherwise provided for in the Rules. 

(b) The game consists in each side playing a ball from a 
183 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

teeing-ground into a hole by successive strokes, and the hole 
is won by the side which holes its ball in fewer strokes than 
the opposite side, except as otherwise provided for in the 
Rules. If the sides hole out in the same number of strokes, 
the hole is halved. 



Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 
In Competitions : 

In Match Play, when two competitors have 
halved their match, they shall continue playing 
hole by hole till one or the other shall have won 
a hole, which shall determine the winner of the 
match. 

Should the match play competition be a handi- 
cap, the competitors must decide the tie by playing 
either one hole, three or five more holes, according 
to the manner in which the handicap ceded falls 
upon certain holes so as to make the extra holes 
a fairly proportionate representation of the round. 

In Medal Play, when two or more competitors 
are tied, the winner shall be determined by an- 
other round of the course; except that By-laws 
15 and 19 of the United States Golf Association 
provide that, in case of ties for the sixteenth place 
in the Amateur Championship medal rounds, or 
the eighth place in the Women's Championship 
medal rounds, respectively, the contestants so 
tied shall continue to play until one or the other 
shall have gained a lead by strokes, the hole or 
holes to be played out. 

184 



RULES OF GOLF 

(c) The teeing-ground shall be indicated by two marks 
placed in a line, as nearly as possible at right angles to the 
course. 

The holes shall be four and one-quarter inches in diameter, 
and at least four inches deep. 

(d) The term "putting-green" shall mean all ground 
within twenty yards of the hole, except hazards. 

(e) A " hazard " shall be any bunker, water (except casual 
water), sand, path, road, railway, whin, bush, rushes, rab- 
bit scrape, fence, or ditch. Sand blown on to the grass, or 
sprinkled on the course for its preservation, bare patches, 
snow and ice are not hazards. Permanent grass within a 
hazard shall not be considered part of the hazard 



Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

Any permanent obstruction of the course shall 
be a hazard. 

(/) The term " through the green " shall mean all parts of 
the course except " hazards " and the putting-green which 
is being played to. 

(g) The term " out of bounds " shall mean any place out- 
side the defined or recognized boundaries of the course. 

(h) " Casual water " shall mean any temporary accumula- 
tion of water (whether caused by rainfall or otherwise) which 
is not one of the ordinary and recognized hazards of the 
course. 

(i) A ball shall be " in play " as soon as the player has made 
a stroke at the teeing-ground in each hole, and shall remain 
in play until holed out, except when lifted in accordance with 
the Rules. 

(j) A ball shall be considered to have " moved " only if it 
leave its original position in the least degree, and stop in 
another; but if it merely oscillate, without finally leaving 
l8 5 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

its original position, it shall not be considered to have 
" moved." 

(k) A ball shall be considered " lost " if it be not found with- 
in five minutes after the search for it is begun. 

(1) A " match " shall consist of one round of the links, 
unless it be otherwise agreed. 

A match is won by the side which is leading by a number 
of holes greater than the number of holes remaining to be 
played. If each side win the same number of holes, the 
match is halved. 

(m) A " stroke " shall be any movement of the ball caused 
by the player, except as provided for in Rule 4, or any down- 
ward movement of the club made with the intention of strik- 
ing the ball. 

(n) A " penalty stroke " is a stroke added to the score of a 
side under certain rules, and shall not affect the rotation of 
play. 

(0) The privilege of playing first from a teeing-ground is 
called " the honor." 

(p) " Addressing the ball " shall mean that a player has 
taken up his position and grounded his club, or, if in a hazard, 
that he has taken up his position preparatory to striking the 
ball. 

(q) The reckoning of the strokes is kept by the terms — 
"the odd," "two more," "three more," etc., and "one off three," 
"one off two," "the like." The reckoning of holes is kept 
by the terms — so many " holes up," or " all even," and so 
many "to play." 

2. A match begins by each side playing a ball from the 
first teeing-ground. 

The player who shall play first on each side shall be named 
by his own side. 

The option of taking the honor at the first teeing-ground 
shall be decided, if necessary, by lot. 

A ball played from in front of, or outside of, or more than 
two club-lengths behind the two marks indicating the teeing- 
186 



R U L E S O F GOLF 

ground, or played by a player when his opponent should 
have had the honor, may be at once recalled by the opposite 
side, and may be re-teed. 

The side which wins a hole shall have the honor at the next 
teeing-ground. If a hole has been halved the side which 
had the honor at the last teeing-ground shall again have the 
honor. 

On beginning a new match the winner of the long match 
in the previous round shall have the honor, or if the previous 
match was halved the side which last won a hole shall have 
the honor. 



Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for playing ball outside of the limits of 

teeing-ground : 

In Match Play, the ball may be at once recalled 
by the opponent, no stroke being counted for 
the misplay. 

In Medal Play, disqualification. 

Penalty for leading off the tee out of turn : 

In Match Play, the ball may be at once recalled 

by the opponent, no stroke being counted for the 

misplay. 

In Medal Play, no penalty — but it is customary 

in Medal Play to observe the honor. 



3. A player shall not play while his ball is moving, under 

the penalty of the loss of the hole. But if the ball begin to 

move while the player is making his upward or downward 

swing, he shall incur no penalty, except as provided for in 

187 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

Rules 10, 18, and 27, and a stroke lost under Rule 27 shall 
not in these circumstances be counted as a stroke of the 
player. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for playing a moving ball [except at the tee] : 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 

In Medal Play, two strokes. 

But if the ball move while the player is making 
his upward or downward swing a penalty is only 
incurred if the player is deemed to have caused it 
to move, under Rules 10 and 18, by moving or 
touching any loose impediment, or under Rule 
2 1> by grounding his club, or in a hazard, by tak- 
ing his stand to play it, in which cases the pen- 
alty shall be : 

In Match Play, one stroke. 

In Medal Play, one stroke. 

4. If the ball fall or be knocked off the tee in addressing it, 
no penalty shall be incurred, and it may be replaced, and if 
struck when moving no penalty shall be incurred. 

5. In a threesome or foursome the partners shall strike off 
alternately from the teeing-grounds, and shall strike alter- 
nately during the play of the hole. 

If a player play when his partner should have done so, 
his side shall lose the hole. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 
Penalty : 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 
In Medal Play, two strokes. 
188 



RULES OF GOLF 

6. When the balls are in play, the ball farthest from the 
hole which the players are approaching shall be played 
first, except as otherwise provided for in the Rules. If a 
player play when his opponent should have done so, the 
opponent may at once recall the stroke. A ball so recalled 
shall be dropped as near as possible to the place where 
it lay without penalty. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

"Otherwise provided for" in Rule 32, and Medal 
Rule 11. 
Penalty for playing out of turn : 

In Match Play, ball may be at once recalled by 
the opponent, no stroke being counted for the 
misplay. 

In Medal Play, no penalty — the ball may not 
be recalled. 

7. The ball must be fairly struck at, not pushed, scraped, 
nor spooned, under penalty of the loss of the hole. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 
Penalty : 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 
In Medal Play, two strokes. 

8. A ball must be played wherever it lies or the hole be 
given up, except as otherwise provided for in the Rules. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A 

"Otherwise provided for" in Rules 9, 11, 13, 
15, 17, 22, 23, 28, 31, 32, 34. 
l8q 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

Penalty : 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 

In Medal Play, two strokes, except otherwise 
provided for in Medal Rules 6, 8, 9, 10, 11. 

9. Unless with the opponent's consent, a ball in play shall 
not be moved, nor touched before the hole is played out, under 
penalty of one stroke, except as otherwise provided for in the 
Rules. But the player may touch his ball with his club in 
the act of addressing it without penalty. 

If the player's ball move the opponent's ball through the 
green, the opponent, if he choose, may drop a ball (without 
penalty) as near as possible to the place where it lay, but 
this must be done before another stroke is played. 

. Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

"Otherwise provided for" in Rules 11, 13, 15, 
17, 22, 2$, 28, 31, 32, 34, and Medal Rules 6, 8, 
9, 10, 11. 

Penalty : 

In Match Play, for moving or touching, one 
stroke. 

In Medal Play, one stroke. 

If a competitor's ball be displaced by another 
competitor's ball it must be replaced, or its owner 
shall be disqualified. 

10. Any loose impediment (not being in or touching a 
hazard) which is within a club -length of the ball may be 
removed. If the player's ball move after any such loose 
impediment has been touched by the player, his partner, or 
either of their caddies, the penalty shall be one stroke. If 

190 



RULES OF GOLF 

any loose impediment (not being on the putting-green) which 
is more than a club -length from the ball be removed, the 
penalty shall be the loss of the hole 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for ball moved (not in hazard) after re- 
moving loose impediment within club -length of 
the ball : 

In Match Play, one stroke. 
In Medal Play, one stroke. 

Through the green, for removing loose impediment 
more than a club-length from the ball : 
In Match Play, loss of the hole. 
In Medal Play, two strokes. 

II. Any vessel, wheelbarrow, tool, roller, grass-cutter, box, 
or similar obstruction may be removed. If a ball be moved 
in so doing, it may be replaced without penalty. A ball ly- 
ing on or touching such obstruction, or on clothes, nets, or 
ground under repair or covered up or opened for the purpose 
of the upkeep of the links, may be lifted and dropped without 
penalty, as near as possible to the place where it lay, but not 
nearer the hole. A ball lifted in a hazard, under such circum- 
stances, shall be dropped in the hazard. 

A ball lying in a golf-hole or flag-hole, or in a hole made by 
the green-keeper, may be lifted and dropped without penalty 
as near as possible to the place where it lay, but not nearer the 
hole. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

"As near as possible" shall mean within a 
club-length. 

191 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

If a ball lie on or within a club-length of a drain- 
cover, water-pipe, or hydrant, it may be lifted and 
dropped without penalty as near as possible to 
the place where it lay, but not nearer the hole. 

12. Before striking at a ball in play, the player shall not 
move, bend, nor break anything fixed or growing near the 
ball, except in the act of placing his feet on the ground for 
the purpose of addressing the ball, in soling his club to ad- 
dress the ball, and in his upward or downward swing, under 
penalty of the loss of the hole, except as otherwise provided 
for in the Rules. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

"Otherwise provided for" in Rules II, 13, 30. 
Penalty : 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 
In Medal Play, two strokes. 

13. When a ball lies in or touches a hazard, nothing shall 
be done to improve its lie ; the club shall not touch the ground, 
nor shall anything be touched or moved before the player 
strikes at the ball, subject to the following exceptions : — 
(1) The player may place his feet firmly on the ground for 
the purpose of addressing the ball ; (2) In addressing the ball, 
or in the upward or downward swing, any grass, bent, whin, 
or other growing substance, or the side of a bunker, wall, 
paling, or other immovable obstacle may be touched; (3) 
Steps or planks placed in a hazard by the Green Committee 
for access to or egress from such hazard may be removed, 
and if a ball be moved in so doing, it may be replaced without 
penalty ; (4) Any loose impediments may be removed from 
the putting-green; (5) The pla3^er shall be entitled to find 

192 



RULES OF GOLF 

his ball as provided for by Rule 30. The penalty for a breach 
of this Rule shall be the loss of the hole. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 
Penalty : 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 
In Medal Play, two strokes. 

14. A player or caddie shall not press down nor remove 
any irregularities of surface near a ball in play. Dung, 
worm-casts, or mole-hills may be removed (but not pressed 
down) without penalty. The penalty for a breach of this 
Rule shall be the loss of the hole. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 
Penalty : 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 

In Medal Play, two strokes. 

Pressing down the surface behind the ball by 
prolonged or forcible grounding of the club shall 
be deemed a breach of this Rule. 

15. If a ball lie or be lost in water, the player may drop a 
ball, under penalty of one stroke. But if a ball lie or be lost 
(1) in casual water through the green, a ball may be dropped 
without penalty ; (2) in water in a hazard, or in casual water 
in a hazard, a ball may be dropped behind the hazard, under 
penalty of one stroke ; (3) in casual water on a putting-green, a 
ball may be placed by hand behind the water, without penalty. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

Penalty : 

In Match Play, one stroke. 
N 193 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

In Medal Play, one stroke. 

A ball lifted from a recognized water hazard 
may be dropped under a penalty of one stroke, 
even if 'the hazard be dry at the time. 

If the water in a recognized water hazard over- 
flow its usual boundaries the overflowed portion 
of the course shall be considered as part of the 
hazard, and not as casual water. 

If a ball lie or be lost in casual water in a hazard, 
a ball may be dropped without penalty, behind the 
water, but in the hazard, keeping the spot, where 
it entered the water, in line to the hole. 

16. When a ball has to be dropped, the player himself 
shall drop it. He shall face the hole, stand erect behind the 
hazard or casual water, keep the spot from which the ball 
was lifted (or in the case of water or casual water, the spot 
at which it entered) in a line between himself and the hole, 
and drop the ball behind him from his head, standing as far 
behind the hazard or casual water as he may please. If it 
be impossible to drop the ball behind the hazard or casual 
water, it shall be dropped as near as possible to the place 
where it lay, but not nearer the hole. If the ball so dropped 
touch the player dropping it, there shall be no further penalty, 
and if the ball roll into a hazard, it may be re-dropped without 
further penalty. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for a ball not dropping in accordance with 
this Rule : 

In Match Play, the opponent may call for the 
194 



RULES OF GOLF 

player to drop again; if the request be not com- 
plied with, the player shall lose the hole. 

In Medal Play, the ball must be dropped again 
or the competitor disqualified. 

17. When the balls lie within six inches of each other on a 
putting-green, or within a club -length of each other through 
the green or in a hazard (the distance to be measured from 
their nearest points), the ball nearer the hole may, at the option 
of either the player or the opponent, be lifted until the other is 
played, and shall then be replaced as near as possible to the 
place where it lay. If the ball farther from the hole be moved 
in so doing, or in measuring the distance, it shall be replaced 
without penalty. If the lie of the lifted ball be altered by the 
player in playing, the ball may be placed in a lie as nearly as 
possible similar to that from which it was lifted, but not nearer 
the hole. 

18. Any loose impediments maybe removed from the putt- 
ing-green, irrespective of the position of the player's ball. 
The opponent's ball may not be moved except as provided 
for by the immediately preceding Rule. If the player's ball 
move after any loose impediment lying within six inches 
of it has been touched by the player, his partner, or either of 
their caddies, the penalty shall be one stroke. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 
Penalty : 

In Match Play, one stroke. 
In Medal Play, one stroke. 

19. When the ball is on the putting-green the player or his 
caddie may remove (but not press down) sand, earth, dung, 
worm-casts, mole-hills, snow, or ice lying round the hole 
or in the line of his putt. This shall be done by brushing 

195 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

lightly with the hand only across the putt and not along it. 
Dung may be removed by a club, but the club must not be 
laid with more than its own weight upon the ground. The 
line of the putt must not be touched, except with the club 
immediately in front of the ball, in the act of addressing it, 
or as above authorized. The penalty for a breach of this 
Rule is the loss of the hole. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 
Penalty : 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 

In Medal Play, two strokes. 

The "line of the putt" does not extend beyond 
the hole. 

The " player or his caddie " shall include his 
partner or his partner's caddie. 

20. When the ball is on the putting-green, no mark shall 
be placed, nor line drawn as a guide. The line of the putt 
may be pointed out by the player's caddie, his partner, or 
his partner's caddie, but the person doing so must not touch 
the ground. 

The player's caddie, his partner, or his partner's caddie, 
may stand at the hole, but no player nor caddie shall endeavor, 
by moving or otherwise, to influence the action of the wind 
upon the ball. 

The penalty for a breach of this Rule is the loss of the hole. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 
Penalty : 
In Match Play, loss of the hole. 
In Medal Play, two strokes. 
196 



RULES OF GOLF 

21. When on the putting-green, a player shall not play 
until the opponent's ball is at rest, under penalty of one 
stroke. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 
Penalty : 

In Match Play, one stroke. 
In Medal Play, one stroke. 

22. Either side is entitled to have a flag-stick removed 
when approaching the hole. If the ball rest against the 
flag-stick when in the hole, the player shall be entitled to 
remove the stick, and, if the ball fall in, it shall be deemed as 
having been holed out at the last stroke. If the player's 
ball knock in the opponent's ball, the latter shall be deemed 
as having been holed out at the last stroke. If the player's 
ball move the opponent's ball, the opponent, if he choose, 
may replace it, but this must be done before another stroke 
is played. If the player's ball stop on the spot formerly 
occupied by the opponent's ball, and the opponent declare 
his intention to replace, the player shall first play another 
stroke, after which the opponent shall replace and play his 
ball. If the opponent's ball lie on the edge of the hole, the 
player, after holing out, may knock it away, claiming the 
hole if holing at the like, and the half if holing at the odd, 
provided that the player's ball does not strike the opponent's 
ball and set it in motion. If after the player's ball is in 
the hole, the player neglect to knock away the opponent's 
ball, and it fall in also, the opponent shall be deemed to have 
holed out at his last stroke. 



Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

Penalty — If player's ball knock in the other ball. 
197 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

In Match Play, the latter shall be counted as 
holed out in the last stroke. 

In Medal Play, the latter must be replaced or 
its owner disqualified. 

— If player's ball displace the other ball : 

In Match Play, the other ball may be replaced 

at its owner's option, but this must be done before 

another stroke is played. 

In Medal Play, the other ball must be replaced 

or its owner disqualified. 

23. If a ball in motion be stopped or deflected by any 
agency outside the match, or by the forecaddie, the ball must 
be played from where it lies, and the occurrence submitted 
to as a " rub of the green." If a ball lodge in anything mov- 
ing, a ball shall be dropped as near as possible to the place 
where the object was when the ball lodged in it, without 
penalty. If a ball at rest be displaced by any agency outside 
the match, excepting wind, the player shall drop a ball as near 
as possible to the place where it lay, without penalty. On 
the putting-green the ball shall be replaced by hand, without 
penalty. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

Ball at rest displaced : 

In Match Play, must be dropped, or, if on putting- 
green, replaced, as near as possible to where it lay, 
or the hole shall be lost. 

In Medal Play, must be replaced as near as 
possible to where it lay, or its owner must be dis- 
qualified. 

198 



RULES OF GOLF 

24. If the plaj r er's ball strike, or be moved by an opponent or 
an opponent's caddie or clubs, the opponent shall lose the hole. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 
Penalty incurred : 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 

In Medal Play, no penalty. 

If the player's ball strike the other competitor,or his 
caddie or clubs, it is a " rub of the green " and the ball 
shall be played from where it lies. If a player's ball 
at rest be moved by the other competitor or his caddie, 
the ball must be replaced or the player disqualified. 

25. If the player's ball strike, or be stopped by, himself, 
or his partner, or either of their caddies or clubs, his side 
shall lose the hole. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

Penalty : 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 
In Medal Play, one stroke. 

26. If the player, when making a stroke, strike the ball 
twice, the penalty shall be one stroke. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 
Penalty : 

In Match Play, one stroke. 
In Medal Play, one stroke. 

27. If the player, when not intending to make a stroke, 
or his partner, or either of their caddies, move his or their 
ball, or by touching anything cause it to move, when it is 
in play, the penalty shall be one stroke. If a ball in play 

199 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

move, after the player has grounded his club in the act of 
addressing it, or, when in a hazard, if he has taken up his 
stand to play it, he shall be deemed to have caused it to be 
moved, and shall lose a stroke, which shall be counted as a 
stroke of the player, except as provided in Rule 3. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for moving the ball or causing it to be moved, 
as under Rules 10 and 18 : 
In Match Play, one stroke. 
In Medal Play, one stroke. 

28. If a player play the opponent's ball, his side shall lose the 
hole, unless (1) the opponent then play the player's ball, where- 
by the penalty is cancelled, and the hole must be played out with 
the balls thus exchanged, or (2) the mistake occur through wrong 
information given by the opponent or his caddie, in which case 
there shall be no penalty, but the mistake, if discovered before 
the opponent has played, must be rectified by placing a ball 
as near as possible to the place where the opponent's ball lay. 

If it be discovered before either side has struck off from 
the next teeing-ground (or, after playing the last hole in the 
match, before any of the players have left the green) that one 
side has played out the hole with the ball of a party not en- 
gaged in the match, that side shall lose the hole. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 
Penalty for breach of this Rule : 

1st. Playing the opponent's ball with excep- 
tions (1) and (2) above noted in the Rule: 
In Match Play, loss of the hole. 
In Medal Play, no penalty. The ball must be 
replaced. 

200 



RULES OF GOLF 

2d. Playing out with the ball of a party not 
engaged in the match: 

In Match Play, if discovered before the next 
tee stroke, loss of the hole. 

In Medal Play, the player must go back and 
play his own ball, or, not finding it, return as near 
as possible to the spot where it was last struck, 
tee another ball, and lose a stroke (Rule 6, Medal 
Play) or else be disqualified. 

29. If a ball be lost, except as otherwise provided for in 
the Rules, the player's side shall lose the hole, but if both 
balls be lost, the hole shall be considered halved. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

"Otherwise provided for" in Rules 15, 31. 
Penalty for lost ball : 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 

In Medal Play, the competitor must return as 
near as possible to the spot from which the lost 
ball was struck, tee a ball, and lose a stroke. 

30. If a ball be lost in fog, bent, whins, long grass, or the 
like, only so much thereof shall be touched as will enable the 
player to find his ball. The penalty for a breach of this 
Rule shall be the loss of the hole. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 
Penalty : 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 
In Medal Play, two strokes. 
201 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

31. If a ball be driven out of bounds, a ball shall be dropped 
at the spot from which the stroke was played, under penalty 
of loss of the distance. 

Penalty : 

In Match Play, loss of the distance. 
In Medal Play, loss of the distance. 

32. In a three-ball match, if a player consider that an 
opponent's ball on the putting-green might interfere with 
his stroke, he may require the opponent either to lift or hole 
out his ball at the opponent's discretion. 

If an opponent consider (1) that his own ball, if left, might 
be of assistance to the player, he is entitled to lift it, or 
hole out at his discretion; or (2) "that the ball of the other 
opponent might be of such assistance, he may require that 
it be either lifted or holed out at the other opponent's dis- 
cretion. 

33. A player shall not ask for advice from any one except 
his own caddie, his partner, or his partner's caddie, nor shall 
he willingly be otherwise advised in any way whatever, 
under penalty of the loss of the hole. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

Penalty : 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 
In Medal Play, disqualification. 

34. If a ball split into separate pieces, another ball may 
be put down where the largest portion lies, or if two pieces 
are apparently of equal size, it may be put where either 
piece lies, at the option of the player. If a ball crack or 
become unfit for play, the player may change it, on intima- 

202 



RULES OF GOLF 

ting to his opponent his intention to do so. Mud adher- 
ing to a ball shall not be considered as making it unfit for 
play. 

35. If a dispute arise on any point, the players have the 
right of determining the party or parties to whom it shall 
be referred, but should they not agree, either side may refer 
it to the Rules of Golf Committee, whose decision shall be 
final. If the point in dispute be not covered by the Rules of 
Golf, the arbiters must decide it by equity. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

Such decisions may be finally referred to the 
Executive Committee of the United States Golf 
Association. 



SPECIAL RULES FOR STROKE 
COMPETITIONS 

1. In stroke competitions, the competitor who holes the 
stipulated course in fewest strokes shall be the winner. 

2. If the lowest scores be made by two or more competitors, 
the tie or ties shall be decided by another round, to be played 
on the same day. But if the Green Committee determine 
that to be inexpedient or impossible, they shall then appoint 
the following or some subsequent day whereon the tie or 
ties shall be decided. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

Except that By-laws 15 and 19 of the United 
States Golf Association provide that, in case of 
203 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

ties for the sixteenth place in the Amateur Cham- 
pionship medal rounds, or for the eighth place in 
the Women's Championship medal rounds, re- 
spectively, the contestants so tied shall continue 
to play until one or the other shall have gained a 
lead by strokes, the hole or holes to be played out. 

3. New holes shall be made for Stroke Competitions, and 
thereafter no competitor, before starting, shall play any 
stroke on a putting-green, under penalty of disqualification. 



Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

Competitors must always assume that new holes 
have been made. Practice strokes may be played 
through the green, and in hazards. 

In Match Play competitions, other than bogey 
competitions, practice strokes may be played on 
the putting-greens. 

4. The scores shall be kept by a special marker, or by the 
competitors noting each other's scores. The scores marked 
shall be checked after each hole. On completion of the round, 
the score of the competitor shall be signed by the marker, 
countersigned by the competitor, and handed to the secretary 
or his deputy, after which, unless it be found that a card re- 
turned shows a score below that actually played (in which 
case the competitor shall be disqualified), no correction or 
alteration can be made. 

5. If a competitor play from outside the limits of the teeing- 
ground, the penalty shall be disqualification. 

6. If a ball be lost (except as otherwise provided for in the 
Rules of Golf), the competitor shall return as near as possible 

204 



RULES OF GOLF 

to the spot from which the lost ball was struck, tee a ball, and 
lose a stroke. The lost ball shall continue in play, if it be 
found before the player has struck another ball. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for breach of this Rule shall be disqualifica- 
tion: 
"Otherwise provided for" in Rules 15, 31. 

7. If a competitor's ball strike himself, his clubs or caddie, 
the penalty shall be one stroke. 

8. If a competitor's ball strike another competitor, or 
his clubs or caddie, it is a "rub of the green," and the ball 
shall be played from where it lies. If a competitor's ball, 
which is at rest, be moved by another competitor or his caddie, 
or his club, or his ball, or by any outside agency excepting 
wind, it shall be replaced as near as possible to the place 
where it lay, without penalty. 

9. A competitor shall hole out with his own ball at every 
hole, under penalty of disqualification But if it be dis- 
covered, before he has struck off from the next teeing-ground, 
or, if the mistake occur at the last hole, before he has handed 
his card to the secretary or his deputy, that he has not holed 
out with his own ball, he shall be at liberty to return and 
hole out with his own ball without penalty. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

If he fail to find his own ball he shall return as 
near as possible to the spot from which he last 
struck it, tee a ball, and lose a stroke. (Medal 
Rule 6.) 

10. A ball may be lifted out of a difficulty of any de- 

205 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

scription, and teed, if possible, behind it, under penalty of 
two strokes. If it be impossible to tee the ball behind the 
difficulty, it shall be teed as near as possible to the place 
where it lay, but not nearer the hole. 

11. All balls shall be holed out, under penalty of dis- 
qualification. When a competitor's ball is within twenty 
yards of a hole, the competitor shall not play until the flag 
has been removed, under penalty of one stroke. If the 
ball nearer the hole might either interfere with the competitor's 
stroke, or in any way assist the competitor, such ball must 
be holed out or lifted, at the owner's option. Through 
the green a competitor may have any other competitor's 
ball lifted, if he find that it interferes with his stroke. 

12. A competitor, unless specially authorized by the Green 
Committee, shall not play with a professional, and he may 
not willingly receive advice from any one but his caddie, 
in any way whatever, under penalty of disqualification. 

A forecaddie may be employed. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 
Each competitor may have a forecaddie. 

13. Competitors shall not discontinue play on account of 
bad weather, under penalty of disqualification. 

14. Where, in the "Rules of Golf," the penalty for the 
breach of any rule is the loss of the hole, in the Stroke Com- 
petitions the penalty shall be the loss of two strokes, ex- 
cept where otherwise provided for in these Special Rules. 

15. Any dispute regarding the play shall be determined 
by the Rules of Golf Committee. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

Such decision may be finally referred to the 
206 



RULES OF GOLF 

Executive Committee of the United States Golf 
Association. 

16. The Rules of Golf, so far as they are not at variance 
with these Special Rules, shall apply to Stroke Competitions. 



ETIQUETTE OF GOLF 

1. A single player has no standing, and must always 
give way to a properly constituted match. 

2. No player, caddie, or onlooker should move or talk 
during a stroke. 

3. No player should play from the tee until the party in 
front have played their second strokes and are out of range, 
nor play up to the putting-green till the party in front have 
holed out and moved away. 

4. The player who has the honor should be allowed to 
play before his opponent tees his ball. 

5. Players who have holed out should not try their putts 
over again when other players are following them. 

6. Players looking for a lost ball must allow other matches 
coming up to pass them. 

7. On request being made, a three-ball match must allow a 
single, threesome, or foursome to pass. Any match playing 
a whole round may claim the right to pass a match playing 
a shorter round. 

8. If a match fail to keep its place on the green, and lose 
in distance more than one clear hole on those in front, it 
may be passed, on request being made. 

9. Turf cut or displaced by a stroke should be at once 
replaced. 

10. A player should carefully fill up all holes made by 
himself in a bunker. 

207 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

II. It is the duty of an umpire or referee to take cognizance 
of any breach of rule that he may observe, whether he be 
appealed to on the point or not. 

Ruling of the U. S. G. A. 

The "Etiquette of Golf" shall be as binding 
upon players as the other Rules of the game. 



INDEX TO R ULES 

The Italics refer to the Rules for Stroke Competitions. 

RULE 

Addressing, ball touched in 9 

ball moved in act of 27 

the ball 12, 13 

Advice, asking for 33 

" competitor receiving 12 

Bad weather 13 

Ball, action of wind on 20 

altered lie of 17 

addressing the 9, [p] 

anything fixed or growing near 12 

assisting competitor 1 1 

at rest, displaced by outside agency 23 

displaced by wind 2^ 

moved 8 

replaced by hand on putting-green 23 

cracked 34 

dropping a 6, 9, II, 15, 16, 23, 31 

fairly struck at 7 

falling off tee 4 

into hole 22 

how dropped 16 

in casual water 15 

in motion, stopped by outside agency 23 

in or touching a hazard 13 

in play, definition 6, [i] 

interfering with stroke II 

o 209 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

RULE 

Ball, in three-ball match 32 

in water 15 

in whins, bent, fog, etc 30 

knocking away opponent's 22 

lie altered 17 

lifted 11, 17, 32 

in hazard 11 

out of difficulty 10 

lifting opponent's 17, 32 

" or holing-out in three-ball match 32 

lodged in anything moving 23 

lost 29, 30, [k] 

lost 6. [k] 

lying in golf-hole or flag-hole II 

moved 9, 11, 17, [j] 

" by outside agency 8 

" in act of addressing 27 

" in hazard 27 

" when no strike intended 27 

moving 3, 4 

" after loose impediment touched 10, 18 

" opponent's 9, 17, 18, 22 

mud adhering to 34 

not in match, playing 28 

on clothes, net, etc 1 1 

opponent's, at rest on putting-green 21 

displaced 22 

falling into hole 22 

out of bounds 31 

playing out of turn 2, 6 

" outside teeing-ground 2 

outside teeing-ground 5 

" wherever it lies 8 

" opponent's 28 

replaced 4, II, 17, 22, 23 

resting against flag-stick 24 

re-teed 2 

split into pieces 32 

striking another competitor 8 

striking competitor, etc 7 

210 



INDEX TO RULES 

RULE 

Ball, striking or moved by opponent, his caddie, or clubs 24 
" striking or stopped by player, his partner, caddie, 

or clubs 24, 25 

" struck twice 26 

" touched in addressing 9, [p] 

" unfit for play 34 

Balls exchanged 28 

" lost 29 

" holed out 11 

" within club-length of each other 17 

" within six inches of each other on putting-green. . 17 

Bounds, ball out of 31 

" " " " definition [g] 

Breach of Rules, penalty for 14 

Caddie, ball striking or stopped by 24, 25 

" may stand at hole 20 

Casual water, ball in 15 

" " definition , [h] 

" " in hazard 15 

" " not in hazard [e] 

Clothes, net, etc., ball on 11 

Club, when grounded 27, [p] 

Competitor receiving advice 12 

" holing out 9 

' ' playing before flag removed 11 

" discontinuing play on account of bad weather 13 

" playing with professional 12 

Correction of score-card 4 

Definitions of addressing ball [p] 

" ball in play [i] 

" " casual water [h] 

" " foursome [a] 

" the game [b] 

" " halved hole , [b] 

" " a hazard [c] 

" " the honor [o] 

'* lost ball [k] 

" " a match [1] 

211 



PRACTICAL GOLF 



RUI.l 



Definitions of moved [j] 

" out of bounds [g] 

" penalty stroke [n] 

" putting-green [d] 

"a side [a] 

" a single . . . '. [a] 

" " a stroke [m] 

" " reckoning of strokes [q] 

" reckoning of holes [q] 

" teeing-grounds [c] 

"a threesome [a] 

" " through the green [f] 

Difficulty, lifting out of 10 

Disputes, deciding 35 

" determined by Rules of Golf Committee 15 

" referring to Rules of Golf Committee 35 

Distance, loss of 31 

Dung, removal of . 14 

" on putting-green, removal of 19 

Flag, removing 11 

Flag-hole, ball lying in 11 

Flag-stick, removing 22 

ball resting against 22 

Forecaddie, ball in motion, stopped by 2^ 

may be employed 12 

Foursome 5, [a] 

" playing out of turn in 5 

Golf-hole, ball lying in 11 

Grass, whin, etc 13, [e] 

Ground under repair, etc., ball on 11 

Halved hole, definition [b] 

Hazard, ball lifted in 11 

ball lying in or touching 13 

" ball in water in 15 

" ball removed in 27, [p] 

" casual water in 15 

" " not in [e] 

212 



INDEX TO RULES 

RULE 

Hazard, definition [e] 

" permanent grass in [e] 

" sand blown on grass, not a [e] 

Hole, dimension of [c] 

" partner or caddie may stand at 20 

Holing out 9,n 

" " mistake in 9 

Holes, reckoning of 1, [q] 

new, for stroke competition 3 

Honor, the 2, [s] 

Impediment, loose, removal of 10, 13, 18 

more than club-length from ball. . 10 

touched, ball removing after 18 

Irregularities of surface 14 

Lie of ball altered 17 

Line drawn on putting-green 20 

" of putt pointed out 20 

" " " touching 19 

Match, beginning of, described 2 

" definition I, [1] 

Mole-hills 14, 19 

Nets, etc., ball on II 

Obstacles, immovable 13 

Obstructions, ball lying on or touching II 

Opponent, etc., ball striking or moved by 24 

Opponent's ball displaced 22 

" at rest on putting-green 21 

" knocking away, knocking in, etc 22 

" moving .9, 17, 18, 22 

" player playing 28 

Out of bounds, ball driven 31 

" " definition of I, [g] 

Outside agency 23 

" ball moved by 8 

Partner may stand at hole 20 

213 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

RULE 

Penalty stroke, definition I, [n] 

" for breach of rules 14 

" counted stroke of player 27 

" under Rule 27, not counted stroke of player 3 

PENALTY (i) LOSS OF HOLE 

Penalty for playing a wrong ball except at tee 3 

" playing out of turn 5 

" unfair stroke 7 

" removing loose impediment wrongfully 10 

" moving, etc., anything fixed or growing. ... 12 

" improving lie, or touching anything in hazard 13 

" pressing down or removing irregularities. ... 14 

" touching line of putt, etc 19 

" marking line of putt, etc 20 

" ball striking or removed by opponent, etc ... . 24 

" ball striking or stopped by player, etc 25 

" playing opponent's ball (under exceptions) . . 28 

" playing ball not in match 28 

" lost ball . 29 

" breach of rule as to touching, fog, bent, 

whins, etc 30 

" asking for advice wrongfully 33 

(2) LOSS OF ONE STROKE 

Penalty for moving or touching without consent 9 

" dropping ball, lying or lost in water 15 

" playing on putting-green before opponent's 

ball at rest 21 

" striking ball twice 26 

" ball moved, when no stroke intended 27 

" " moved in hazard 27 

" " lost 6 

" " striking competitor, etc 7 

" playing before flag removed n 

(3) LOSS OF TWO STROKES 

Penalty for lifting a ball out of difficulty 10 

214 



INDEX TO RULES 



RULE 



Penalty when, in the rule of Golf, the penalty for the breach 
of any rule is the loss of the hole {except as other- 
wise provided in Special Rides) 14 

(4) DISQUALIFICATION 

Penalty for playing on putting-green before starting 3 

" " returning score below that actually made 4 

'"' playing from outside teeing-ground 5 

" " competitor not holing out with his own ball. . 9 

" ball not holed out 11 

" " receiving advice wrongfidly 12 

" discontinuing play on account of bad weather. 13 

Player, etc., ball striking 25 

" striking ball twice 26 

Playing ball not in match 28 

opponent's ball 28 

out of turn 5, 6 

outside teeing-ground 2, [c] 

outside teeing - ground 5 

" playing with professional competitor 12 

Putt, pointing out line of 20 

" touching line of 19 

Putting-green, ball in casual water on 15 

balls within six inches of each other on. .17 
competitor playing stroke before starting on 3 

definition I, [d] 

" loose impediments on 13, 18 

no mark placed on 20 

opponent's ball at rest on 21 

removing sand, earth, dung, etc., on ... . 19 
removing snow or ice on 19 

Re-teeing ball 2 

" Rub of the green " 23 

Rub of the green 8 

Rules of Golf when not at variance with Special Rules . . 16 

Sand blown on grass or sprinkled on course 1, [e] 

Score-card, mistake in 4 

215 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

RULE 

Scores, how kept 4 

Side, definition 1, [a] 

Single, definition I, [a] 

Snow and ice not hazards I, [e] 

" on putting-green, removing 19 

Soling club 12 

Split ball 34 

Striking ball twice 26 

Stroke, definition 1, [m] 

penalty counted as stroke of player 27 

" penalty, definition 1, [m] 

competition deciding ties in 2 

how won 1 

new holes made for 3 

Strokes, reckoning of 1, [q] 

Surface, irregularities of 14 

Tee, ball falling off 4 

Teeing-ground, definition 1, [c] 

" ball played outside 2 

" ball played outside 5 

Three-ball match, definition I, [a] 

" lifting or holing out in 32 

Threesome 1, 5, [a] 

Through the green, definition I, [f] 

Ties, deciding 2 

Two strokes, penalty of 14 

Vessel, etc., on course „ II 

Water in hazard 1, [e] 

ball in 15 

" casual, definition 1, [h] 

" casual, not a hazard 1, [e] 

Weather, discontinuing play on account of 13 

Wheelbarrow, etc., on course II 

Whins, long grass, etc., ball in 30 

Wind, action of, on ball 20 

ball at rest, displaced by 2^ 

" ball at rest, displaced by 8 

216 



INDEX TO RULES 



kn.K 



Worm-casts, mole-hills, etc 14 

" on putting-green, removing 19 

Wrong ball 28 

" information by opponent, etc 28 



Etiquette of Golf 207 



GLOSSARY 



TECHNICAL TERMS USED IN CONNECTION WITH 
THE GAME OF GOLF 

Addressing the Ball — The act of the player placing himself 
in position to strike the ball. 

Approaching — Playing a ball on to the putting-green. 

Back Spin — See Undercut. 

Baffy-spoon or Baffy — A wooden club with a short shaft and 
very much lofted in the face, formerly used for approaching. 

Bogey, Colonel — See page 183. 

Bone or Fibre — A piece of horn or wood fibre, or other 
material, inserted in the sole of wooden clubs, to prevent 
the face from being injured at the bottom. 

Borrow — When a putt requires to be played across sloping 
ground, the player must borrow, or play the ball a little 
up the slope to counteract the effect of its falling off down 
hill while rolling towards the hole. 

Brassey — A wooden club with a brass plate on the sole. 
Vide page 124. 

Bulger — A club with a convex face. Vide page 118. 

Bunker — A generic term ordinarily used to comprehend 
all hazards of an artificial nature. 

Bye — A hole or holes which remain to be played after 
the match is finished. 

Bye-bye — A hole or holes which remain to be played after 
the bye is finished. 

Caddie — The person who carries the golfer's clubs. 

Carry — The distance from where a ball is driven to where 
it alights. 

218 



G L O S S A R Y 

Cleek — A club with an iron head. Vide page 126. 

Club — The implement with which the ball is struck. 

Cop — The top or face of a bunker. 

Course — The ground upon which golf is played. 

Cup — A small hole in the course, of varying depth, usually 
made by the stroke of some previous player. Sometimes 
used also to indicate the hole in the putting-green into which 
the ball is played. 

Dead — When a ball alights without rolling it is said to fall 
" dead." A ball is also said to be " dead " when it is so near the 
hole that the player is certain to hole it on the next stroke. 

Divot — The piece of turf displaced by a player when mak- 
ing a stroke. 

Dormy — A player is " dormy " when he is as many holes 
ahead of his opponent as there remain holes to be played. 

Driver — The wooden club with which tee shots are usually 
played. 

Driving — Used in two senses : first, playing tee shots ; 
and, second, playing any full strokes. 

Driving-iron } Iron clubs for playing tee shots. Vide 

Driving Mashie ) page 133. 

Even — See Square. 

Face — That part of the club head which strikes the ball. 

Flat — A club has a " flat " lie when the head is at a very 
obtuse angle to the shaft. 

Flub— Vide Foozle. 

Fluke — Bringing off a shot successfully which was not 
played for or contemplated. 

Fog — Moss ; also thick, rank grass. 

Follow-through — The continuation of the stroke after the 
ball has been struck. 

Foozle — A badly played stroke. 

Fore — A corruption of " Before." The warning cry which 
a golfer gives to any person liable to be struck by the ball 
which he has driven or is about to drive. 

Forecaddie — A person employed to go ahead of the players 
to watch where their balls go. 

Foursome — A match in which four persons take part — 
two, playing alternately, playing against the other two, 
likewise playing alternately. 

219 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

Gobble — A putt played with such force that, although 
it goes into the hole, would otherwise have gone some dis- 
tance beyond. 

Green — First, the whole links or course ; second, the putt- 
ing-green within twenty yards of a hole, exclusive of hazards. 

Grip — First, the part of the club -shaft grasped by the 
player ; second, the grasp itself. 

Half — First, a stroke allowed on every alternate hole; 
second, the term usually applied when a hole has been made 
by each player in the same number of strokes. 

Half Shot — A stroke midway between a full and a quar- 
ter shot. 

Halved — A hole is " halved " when each side takes the 
same number of strokes. A match is halved when both 
sides have won the same number of holes. 

Hanging Lie — A ball which lies on ground sloping down- 
ward in the direction of play. 

Hazard — A comprehensive term for bunkers, water, sand, 
loose earth, paths, roads or railways, bushes, fences, 
ditches, or anything outside of the fair-green. 

Head — That part of the club unattached to the shaft. 

Heel — First, that part of the head between the face and 
the neck ; second, to hit the ball off the heel. 

Hole — First, the hole in the putting-green; second, the 
act of playing the ball thereinto; third, the whole space 
between the teeing-ground and the putting-green. 

Honor — The privilege of playing off first from the tee. 

Hook — See Pidl. Hook on a club refers to the face, when 
the head is placed flat on the ground, lying in to the ball. 
Also used to describe a ball played to the left of the line of 
play. 

Horn — See Bone. 

Hose — The socket of irons into which the shaft is fitted. 

Iron — A club with an iron head. 

Jerk — First when a stroke is played with " jerk " the 
club head, after striking the ball, digs into the ground ; 
second, additional force exerted spasmodically before striking 
the ball. 

.Jigger — An iron club between a mid-iron and a mashie. 

Lie — First, the lie of a club refers to the angle of the head 
220 



GLOSSARY 

to the shaft ; second, with reference to the position of the 
ball in relation to its immediate surroundings, a good lie 
signifying that the ball lies clear of all obstructions, and a 
bad lie signifying that it lies in a hole or in heavy grass, etc. 

Lift — To lift a ball is to take it out of a hazard or elsewhere 
and drop or tee it in accordance with the Rules. Used also 
to indicate when a player lifts his ball after playing several 
more strokes than his opponent, and thereby conceding the 
hole as lost. 

Like — The like is the stroke which equalizes the number 
played by the other side. Thus, after the tee-shots have 
been played, the player farthest from the hole plays the 
" odd," and, if he places the ball nearer the hole than his 
opponent, his opponent then plays the " like," and the players 
are said to be " like as they lie." 

Like as We Lie — When both players have played the 
same number of strokes. See Like. 

Links — The ground on which golf is played. See Course. 

Loft — First, to send the ball into the air ; second, the degree 
of angle to which the face of a club is laid back. 

Lofter — A lofting-iron. 

Lofting-iron — A club with an iron head with more or less 
loft in the face ; used to pitch the ball in the air. 

Long Game — Driving and playing full shots through 
the green. 

Mashie — An iron club, with a deep, short blade, more or 
less lofted. 

Match — First, the sides playing against each other ; second, 
the game itself. 

Match Play—Goli played by holes only. 

Medal Play — Golf played by strokes only. 

Mid-iron — An iron-headed club with more loft on the 
face than a cleek. 

Neck — The bent part of the head of the club where it is 
connected with the shaft. 

Niblick — An iron club with a small, heavy head, well 
lofted, used to play the ball out of bunkers, hazards, and 
bad lies. 

Nose — See Toe. The pointed part of the club farthest 
away from the player. 

221 



PRACTICAL GOLF 

Odd — To play the " odd " is to play one stroke more than 
one's opponent. 

One off Two, One off Three, etc. — When your opponent has 
played three strokes more, your next stroke is " one off three"; 
when he has played " two more," your next stroke is " one 
off two," and so on. 

Play-club — See Driver. 

Press — To strive to hit the ball harder than usual, in order 
to get greater distance. 

Putt— See Hook. 

Putt — To play a stroke on the putting-green. 

Putter — A club used for putting. 

Quarter Shot — A stroke less than a half shot. 

Rub of the Green — Whatever happens to a ball in motion, 
such as its being deflected or stopped by any agency outside 
the match, or by the forecaddie, is a rub of the green, and 
the ball must be played from where it lies. 

Run — First, to play the ball along the ground instead of 
lofting it ; second, the run of a drive is the distance the ball 
runs after alighting. 

Scare — The part of the club where the head and shaft 
are spliced together. 

Sclaff — To hit the ground before striking the ball, thus 
robbing the stroke of a good deal of its strength. 

Scratch Player — One who does not receive any handicap 
allowance. 

Screamer — A very long stroke, so called from the whistling 
noise made by the ball. 

Shaft— The handle of the club. 

Short Game — Approaching and putting. 

Slice — First, to draw the face of the club across the ball 
from right to left in the act of hitting it ; second, the flight 
described by the ball so struck. 

Socket — The part of the head of iron clubs into which the 
shaft is fitted. ' 

Socket Clubs — Clubs which have the shaft running down 
into the neck. 

Sole— The flat bottom part of the club head which rests 
on the ground. 

Spoons — Clubs with wooden heads, more or less lofted. 
222 



GLOSSARY 

Spring — The degree of suppleness of the shaft. 

Square — Said of a game when it stands level, neither 
side being any holes ahead. 

Stance — The position of the player's feet when he ad- 
dresses the ball. 

Steal — To hole a long, unlikely putt so that it just drops 
into the hole. 

Stroke — Any movement of the club which is intended to 
strike the ball. 

Stymie — When the balls, near the hole, are directly in 
the line of play and more than six inches away from each 
other. Sometimes applied also to a tree or other obstruction 
in the direct line of play. 

Swing — The manner in which the club is swung when 
in the act of hitting the ball. 

Tee — The elevation, usually a small pinch of sand, on 
which the ball is placed for the first stroke to each hole. 

Teeing-ground — The space marked out within the limits 
of which the ball must be teed. 

Third — A handicap of one stroke allowed at every third 
hole. 

Three-quarter Stroke — A stroke of less distance than a 
full stroke, but more than a half stroke. 

Toe — See Nose. 

Top — To hit the ball above its centre. 

Two More — To play two strokes more than one's opponent, 
and so on. 

Undercut — To hit the ball beneath the centre, so that it 
rises high in the air and runs comparatively little after 
alighting. 

Upright— See Lie. 

Whipping — The twine with which the club head and shaft 
are bound together. 

Wrist Shot — See Quarter Shot. 



INDEX 



Approaching, 42 

Balance, 6-8 

Balls, 134-140 

Brassey, 36. 124 

Bulger, 118 

Bunker, 157 

Cleek, 127 

Clubs, 108, 131 

CW, 49 

Driver, 108, 124 

Driving, 7, 22, 118 

Driving-iron, 133 

FeeZ or Balance, 7 

Folloiv-through, 24, 32 

General Remarks, 97-107 

Glossary of Technical Terms, 

218 
Greens, 159-171 
Grt"/> 0/ cZtto, 11, 72 
HaZ/ sZioZs, 132 
Handicapping, 172 
Hanging lie, 40 
Hazards, 87 
Heeling, 49 
.HoZe, 153, 154. 166 
Honor, 207 
Hooking, 118 
Irons, 127 
Jerking, 21, 46 
Learning golf, 1—4 
Leather faces, 112 
Length of drives, 22 
Length of holes, 35 
Links, 145 
P 



Lofting, 55, 56, 80 
Long game, 22, 30 
Mashie, 45, 127 
Match play, 106, 177 
Medal play, 104, 105 
Niblick, 133 
OitZ 0/ /orra, 100 
Physical strength, 22 
Play through the green, 42 
Position of ball, 27 
Practising, 97, 102, 103 
Pressing, 21 
Pulling, 14, 27, 35 
Putters and putting, 63, 76, 129 
RwZes 0/ go//, 181 
Sclaffing, 21, 39 
Shafts, 121--124 
Slicing, 2j, 99 
Spoons, 132 
Stance, 4, 71 
Stymies, 83 
Swing, 15, 20 
Technical terms, 218 
Teeing- grounds, 156 
Tees, 156 

Three-quarter strokes, 132 
Topping, 1 01 
Tournament play, 103 
Training, 104 
Undercut, 53 
Upkeep of links, 145 
Watering greens, 159 
Wind, 54 
Wrist work, 17 
225 



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